Princess Tutu: Chapter of the Bird
by Tomoyo Ichijouji
Summary: Ahiru and Fakir had been passing the days at the lake when Rue and Mytho arrive back in town, with some grim news. What’s this about ravens and a town called Ginkan? …Wait, who’s that cloaked boy who looks like Mytho? Sequel fic, will be epic length.
1. 27 AKT: The Duck and the Pauper :part a:

_Once upon a time, there was a duck. One day, the duck met a prince whose heart had been shattered to bits by a terrible raven and scattered around the town. The duck felt sorry for the prince, and with the help of the prince's loyal knight, collected the shards of heart, and returned his heart to him. The prince returned to his former self, defeated the raven, found his princess, and held the duck forever grateful in his heart._

_That is the end of the story._

_But, when is the story truly finished? What happens after the story ends?_

**Princess Tutu**  
_-Kapitel des Vogel-_  
-鳥の章-  
(Chapter of the Bird)

27. AKT "The Duck and the Pauper"  
~ Dornröschen: Walzer ~  
(Sleeping Beauty: Waltz)

In the town of Kinkan, the morning was pleasant and sunny, with clouds like cotton balls adorning the orange sky. In one of the small houses lined up within the town, a boy lay asleep upon a bed with olive-green covers. A thick lock of his straight black hair fell over the corner of his face, and a short ponytail hung on the back of his head.

His green eyes blinked open. He took a breath, and yawned as he covered his mouth. He rose from the bed and ambled sleepily over to the bathroom. He passed a desk on which an exquisite old-fashioned red lamp stood. It was the same lamp once abandoned by its previous owners that Ahiru had found in an attic a long time ago.

Fakir swept aside the bathtub curtains. A small yellow duck with a long plume sticking out the top of her head was slumbering in the bathtub.

"'Morning, Ahiru," Fakir murmured with a small smile.

Ahiru's eyes peeped open, then they widened with glee. "Quack!" she replied.

As they had been doing for the past few months, Fakir lifted Ahiru gently out of the tub, and she rode on his shoulder down to the kitchen. He collected the food he would need for the day before setting out for the lake, where he would write with the inspiration of its clear, sparkling water while Ahiru swam about alongside him. He used to attend the Kinkan art school for dance, but ever since Ahiru returned to being a duck and spent most of her time at the lake, Fakir found himself preferring to sit at the dock in her company, with a fishing rod, parchment, and a quill in his hand. As a duck could no longer attend the school, he found he had less desire to do so as well.

Karon greeted them from the dining room table, drinking his customary cup of tea. "Good morning, Fakir, Ahiru. It's a beautiful day to be outside, isn't it?"

Fakir gave a slight grumpy nod. Ahiru quacked in response.

"So then, will you be going out early to greet them?"

Fakir blinked. "Greet…them?"

It was Karon's turn to be surprised. "You didn't know? Do you not remember? Today is the day that the Prince and Princess return to Kinkan."

Ahiru's sapphire eyes and Fakir's green eyes both widened in astonishment. "The Prince and Princess? You mean…Mytho and Rue?"

Karon nodded slowly. "Yes…the news has been going around most of the town recently. It seems a little strange that you aren't aware of it by now." He thought a moment. "Then again, I suppose since you've been at the lake so often, that might explain it."

Blinking in bewilderment, Fakir muttered a brief farewell and marched outside, Ahiru looking just as confused on his shoulder beside him.

_Mytho…and Rue-chan? Coming back to Kinkan?_ Ahiru glanced beside her at Fakir. _I had heard here and there lately that they might be coming back, but today? Though I guess it makes sense that we wouldn't know…we don't spend much time in town, since we stay around the lake all the time, after all._

Ahiru grinned. _And if it is true, and they are returning, then we can see Mytho, and Rue-chan again! I hope they're doing all right!_

Fakir was having somewhat different thoughts. _Why would Mytho and Rue be returning out of the blue like that? There has to be a reason for them coming back now, something urgent…what could it possibly be?_

The question lingered in Fakir's mind. Swaying between doubt and assurance, he glanced back at Ahiru on his left shoulder. She beamed at him cheerfully, with warm, golden hope shining from her eyes, like it had been when she had returned the entire town to normal with her simple, yet mystical dance. The only thing on her mind at that moment was the thought that she would get to see her dear friends again.

Fakir let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was at times like these he could swear Ahiru was still communicating with him somehow, reasoning with him and reassuring him of his doubts. Even without words to speak with, she was the best companion he had ever known.

As they turned the corner, they spotted a large crowd of people gathered in the street a block ahead of them. Fakir approached the gathering and found a person to interrogate. "Ebine-san? What's going on? What's everyone crowded around here for?"

The largish woman replied, beaming, "Oh, didn't you know? Everyone's here to watch – the Prince and Princess will be arriving soon! The procession's sure to be spectacular!"

There was a small murmur of assent throughout the group of people standing around the three.

Fakir stood silently in the crowd, thinking. _The whole town's acting as if there always were a Prince and Princess…was that how the town had been before the story had started? _

The crowd stirred. Fakir had to practically almost stand en pointe to see what was going on, but he let Ahiru have a better view from the top of his head.

o-o-o-o-o

Outside the town's gates, a figure hooded in a frayed, faded beige cloak gazed up at the walls that stood around the boundaries of the town.

"So, this is the town of Kinkan," a boy's voice uttered curiously from within the cloak. His blue eyes glimmered with trepidation from under the mantle's hood. For a moment, his eyes fell, as if remembering something upsetting. Quickly though he raised them again and he shook his head, as if to shake off the recollection. Sure, it might look similar, but he knew that this was another town. A fresh start, he thought, nervously pulling the hood tighter over his head.

He started toward the gates when he noticed a sizable crowd gathered at the gates and all around the town wall. It looked as if it stretched down into the pathway inside too.

The boy sighed. _Well, I suppose I'll find a way into the town from another direction._

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir glanced up towards Ahiru flying above the crowd. "Do you see them yet?" he called up to the duck, causing a few of the people nearby to glance at him with puzzlement, wondering who he was addressing

Ahiru looked back down at him and shook her head. Fakir lowered his head and sighed irritatedly again, pursing his lips. The crowd was growing excited, so they should be arriving at any moment now…

"Quack!"

Fakir's eyes shot back upward. Ahiru was quacking excitedly, taking a glance back down at Fakir, and pointing with her eyes and beak to their left, in the direction of Kinkan Town's main entrance. The clock tower began to chime, displaying the clockwork swan, knight, and prince with princess that spun steadily to the toll of the miniature bells.

The throng of spectators cheered as a flock of swans showered the path with dazzling white feathers. People standing within the upper stories of adjacent buildings flung rose petals into the air, creating a splendid rainfall of pink and white floating down towards the joyful crowd.

A pair of white swans led a sparkling pearlite coach that hovered through the air. Ahiru from above, and Fakir from below as he peered over the heads of the crowd, both recognized it as the same one in which the prince and princess had departed, almost as if they had never left.

Prince Mytho and Princess Rue waved gently to the crowds as they passed by. Mytho, in his regal indigo tunic with a feathery white collar resembling a pair ofwings and matching white pants and cape, and Rue, in her majestic cream colored dress with layered puffed sleeves, truly looked like they had stepped straight out of a fairy tale. They remembered how distraught Rue had been before the Raven had been defeated. Compared to when she still had been teetering between Kraehe and Rue, she looked so much happier and content now with Mytho as his princess.

Ahiru quacked with glee. _Mytho! Rue-chan!_She flapped towards them joyfully.

Fakir had spotted them, too. _Both of them seem to be doing all right, so far…_ Something seemed off with Mytho, though. Fakir studied his old friend a little closer and noted that his expression seemed preoccupied. Rue seemed less so, but he did notice her glance at Mytho worriedly every so often.

Suddenly, a yellow duck swooped down and landed on the bow of their carriage, quacking a chipper hello. Some of the crowd chuckled at the sight.

"A-Ahiru!" Fakir's eyes widened with alarm, and then he shook his head, frowning and crossing his arms. "Damn it, you'd better not get yourself run over…"

"Quack!" Ahiru greeted Mytho and Rue with a big duckling grin.

Mytho seemed taken aback, as if jolted out of his troubled thoughts, but softened his expression with a princely smile. "Hello, Tutu. We have not seen each other for some time."

Rue smiled also. "It's wonderful to know you are well, Ahiru."

Ahiru responded with further cheerful quacks.

"Is Fakir doing all right?"

"Quack!" Ahiru nodded.

"Hmm…" Rue thought for a moment. "Lead him to the gates of the palace. We'll meet in person there. Just follow the main street straight down."

_Affirmative!_ Ahiru quacked again resolutely, and flew back to Fakir.

"That's one way to get a lot of attention, Ahiru…" he admonished her gently, shaking his head.

_Fakir! Mytho and Rue-chan want us to follow them to the palace!_ Ahiru quacked impulsively. Remembering after a moment that she couldn't talk, she hastily glanced towards the direction of Mytho and Rue's carriage, dancing and gesturing frantically, first expressing a movement of following, and then stopping and spreading her wings up high to indicate a tall structure. Finally she indicated a meeting.

Fakir concentrated on her movements, and then attempted to decipher them. "So…follow…Mytho and Rue…to a tall building, of some sort… …and meet there…?"

Ahiru nodded vehemently.

"Right," Fakir nodded back, "let's go from the side pathway following the main road; it'll take too long for me to follow you through the crowds as they are now."

Ahiru assented, and then took off higher in the skies as Fakir headed down the other road so Ahiru could keep an eye out for Mytho and Rue as he went around.

The two at last reached the gates of Kinkan Academy, which judging from the guards wearing the swan insignia posted around the bridge, was the rendezvous point. Ahiru, a little tired from all the flying, landed on Fakir's shoulder to rest

As they approached, a soldier took a few steps forward. "Kinkan Academy is closed today due to Prince Mytho and Princess Rue's return. Classes will commence as usual tomorrow."

As Fakir had been neglecting to attend after Ahiru had returned to being a duck, this was news to him. "Why is the school closed right now?"

The soldier furrowed an eyebrow at him slightly. "The students would surely get in the way if they were around while their Highnesses were getting settled back in."

Fakir blinked while Ahiru tilted her head puzzledly. "So…you're saying that they're going to be living over here?"

Another soldier nearby nodded. "While they were absent, these grounds were used full-time as a school for the fine arts out of their great generosity, and will still be working as one even when they are present. In fact, the Prince and Princess will be giving demonstrations of dance in classes after they have moved in properly."

The guard who had first talked now spoke up again. "Anyhow, why are you here? What is your business with the Prince?" His eyes flitted to the duck on Fakir's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. He and the duck are very good friends of mine."

"Quack!" _Mytho!_

Mytho and Rue had arrived, their golden carriage slowing gracefully to a stop in front of the gates.

"Haven't seen either of you two in a while," Fakir said, nodding toward them in a modest yet respectful greeting. "Sorry for the trouble."

"Think nothing of it, Fakir," Mytho waved the apology away. "I'm very happy to see you."

"…Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Fakir asked tentatively.

Mytho sighed heavily, his expression growing heavy, reminding Fakir of how the prince had looked while riding in the carriage. "I must admit, there is. Something has come to my attention as of late that is cause for a great deal of concern."

Fakir frowned. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Rue glanced around. "I think it would be best if we discussed this inside…"

o-o-o-o-o

The boy in the cloak strolled through a different gate of Kinkan where there was little to no other traffic. "Well, that wasn't too hard," he remarked aloud to himself, relieved.

He pulled off his hood and gazed up at the cloudless cerulean sky, revealing a head covered with short white locks of hair which resembled Mytho's to an astonishing degree. "Gosh, it's sure a nice day today…"

He wandered around the streets, glancing about at the shops and stores close by, searching for a place he could possibly find some kind of work. Or if worst came to absolute worst, then maybe he'd, umm…quietly take some tidbits from a loose cupboard here or there.

He came across a shop with delicious-looking white loaves of bread and magnificent cakes in the display window. On a sign in one corner of the window was stated in neat bold handwriting: **Help Wanted**.

_Just what I was looking for,_ the boy thought, his expression brightening as he opened the door and walked inside, a bell attached to the door chiming at his entrance.

The aroma of baking bread made his mouth water as soon as he entered. As wonderful as the scent was, it caused his stomach to rumble, making him even hungrier than he already was. Reasoning to himself that he'd be able to eat if he got a job, and at a bakery no less, he went up to the counter and waited for the baker to come over.

He watched the baker in another room behind the counter finish his work with the dough and exit the kitchen to the counter where the boy was waiting.

"Hello, and what can I help you wi – "

The baker's eyes widened as he spotted the boy. "It…it couldn't be!"

The boy tensed, his teeth clenching.

The baker, looking positively overjoyed,bowed meekly. "Y-your majesty! What an honor to find you in our humble bakery! What brings you here today, of all days?"

This outcome surprised the boy even more than he had expected.. "Uh, did you say…'Your majesty'?" he said in complete bewilderment. "Wh-what…?"

"Oh, Highness, my sincerest apologies for not recognizing you at first! Why, with those simple clothes on, I had no idea at first!"

Blinking, the boy replied with a flabbergasted expression on his face, "But, I'm not any kind of royalty, I swear! I'm just someone that came into your shop, because I wanted to ask for a job–"

The baker chuckled. "Oh, I understand now. What a great way to make an entrance on your arrival, Mytho-sama – disguise yourself as a poor boy and slip into town so you could personally greet everyone. I have to say, you blend in so well that I doubt anyone will notice!"

The boy stood there, blinking with a flabbergasted expression on his face. "Uh…no, this isn't a joke. I'm serious! You've got to be mistaking me for someone else, because I don't have a clue who this 'Mytho' person is, but it sure isn't me!"

The baker guffawed. "Hilarious! Ingenious! You've really thought this out!"

Trutho took a long, deep, trembling breath, and exhaled slowly. There was no use losing one's head just because someone else had misplaced his. If this baker really was that dense, then he might as well just play along. "All right, um…yeah, that's right, you've got me." Thinking quickly, Trutho added, "Well, I thought I might stop by and, well…sample some of your merchandise, if it wasn't too much trouble…"

"Oh, no, your Highness, it would be an honor!" he exclaimed, seizing a bunch of different kinds of breads and pieces of cakes and practically shoving them in Trutho's hands. "Please, try anything you want, even the entire store if you wish!"

Sometime later, when the sun was starting to take its leave, the Mytho look-alike exited the bakery, still munching on a last piece of baked wheat bread. _That could have turned out a whole lot worse. I suppose I should feel guilty, taking food in some noble's name, but if that's the way I'll get my daily 'bread' so to say, then that's the way it's gotta be…_

Absorbed in his thoughts and food, Trutho failed to notice the small crowd of people gathering around him for a while. When he did, he balked and impulsively took off at a run. Realizing how fishy this would look to everyone, he said to the peoplebehind him, "I…um, suddenly felt like getting some exercise and so now I'm going to jog around town…"

And when he noticed some people were still following him, he added louder, "And I'd like some peace and quiet, so could you please leave me alone?"

He finally was able to escape from the most stubborn spectators, after stumbling numerous times in his haste, and found himself on a quieter street. He carefully peeked around the corner of the nearest block and found that the next street was calm as well. He sighed with relief, and slid down against the wall, slumping onto the ground. "Peace and quiet…for now, anyway."

He gazed up at the sky, which was now a bright orange fading to a navy blue overhead, casting elongated shadows across the streets. He couldn't think of what else to do, so he decided to stay and catch his breath for a little while. He closed his eyes.

o-o-o-o-o

The sound of creaking and clanking surrounded a man with white, curly hair and numerous multicolored feathers sticking out of his hat and a tiny figure with light blue-green hair and a _taptaptap_ emitting from her small toy drum. The gears of stories turned endlessly, constantly, in a dark place where nothing else seemed to exist except for the people wandering around within it.

Drosselmeyer sighed dramatically. "It's odd, how long we've been searching for a story to write, and yet nothing seems worthy of writing!"

Uzura shrugged. "I dunno-zura."

Drosselmeyer shook his head reproachfully. "Many of these stories would be so boring I'd fall asleep before I finished them! No potential at all in the characters for any good tragedy!"

Uzura blinked and shrugged again. Some of them actually looked to her like they could've been pretty nice if she had stuck around to watch. But, so far she didn't see any reason to stop following the tussle-mayor yet.

"Oh! What is this?"

Uzura looked at the gear in front of them where Drosselmeyer was staring. It was a threesome of feathers designed as if they could be used as quills: one was large and black, like a raven's; one was smaller and yellow, like a duck's; and the last was one that was slightly larger than the yellow one, a white one.

"Hmm…" Drosselmeyer muttered, picking up the black feather and examining it while Uzura gazed up at him. "This looks familiar…"

Drosselmeyer grinned. "Well, what do you know? I think this is the Raven's feather!" He cackled. "This could come in handy…and what is this?"

He picked up the white feather. "This couldn't be…a swan's feather?"

He studied the feather closer, flicking his wrist, looking at it front and back. Finally, he shook his head. "It's not, of course…should've realized I wouldn't find the prince's feather now that his story runs on its own. It's only a goose feather. Easy mistake to make."

He paused for a moment, and then slowly looked back at the white feather. "Strange…this one seems to be related to the swan feather…could it be…?"

Without another word, he placed it along with the black feather in his other hand.

"And now…the yellow one."

He reached for it, but Uzura snatched it out of his grasp.

"Eh?" He glared at her. "Now, Uzura-chan, this is no time to be playing games. Hand me the little feather now…"

Uzura shook her head. "No-zura."

"What? Come now, come now, let me have it…I know just what to do with them – and I saw them first…"

Uzura shook her head again stubbornly. She highly doubted that Drosselmeyer was just going to stick them in his hat. "No way-zura. It's Ahiru's feather-zura."

Drosselmeyer's face broke into a sly smile. "Ahiru's feather, ay? The more, the merrier! Let me have it!"

"No-zura!" Uzura held it out of harm's way.

"Uzura-chan!"

"No!"

"Please?"

"You can't have it-zura." She cuddled it in her arms right over the red tulip icon on her blouse.

Drosselmeyer sighed resignedly. "Oh well, I don't really have any more power over her anyway. Let me see what I can do with these…" Chortling, he set off to find the stories that the feathers led to. Worried, Uzura followed, clutching the duck's feather in her hands, as if it was to be protected at all costs.

A hop, skip, and a jump across gears away, Drosselmeyer took a glance at his two feathers and stopped at his destination. "So, this is where the raven's feather leads to…and the goose's…and–"

He blinked and his eyes widened to a pair of white and orange marbles. "It can't be!"

Uzura glanced at Ahiru's feather and found that it lead to the same cluster of gears.

"This is where we started off at!" Drosselmeyer exclaimed. "The prince, the useless knight, the raven's false daughter, the duck – they're all here with them!"

Uzura gaped at the gears in awe. "Aaooohhhhh…"

She glanced down at the yellow feather she was holding, and looked back up at the unmoving gear that was linked to it. It was connected with another gear together, side-by-side.

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir sat at the dock overlooking the lake, watching the duck Ahiru and her lake friend, the great blue heron, Sagi as he contemplated what Mytho and Rue had told them some time earlier.

"_So, let me get this straight," Fakir took a breath, "Groups of ravens have started appearing in a neighboring town, and they've begun stalking people?"_

_"Yes," Mytho affirmed. "We've gotten several messages at this point that these birds have started congregating strangely, pursuing individuals, as well as some close calls of assault."_

"_This sounds just like something the Raven would do," Rue added._

_Mytho's amber eyes narrowed uneasily. "If something's going to happen, I can't risk another victim of the ravens. We both know what the consequences could be." He glanced significantly at Rue. She returned the look._

"_We had just gotten the first of the messages while we were on our way back to Kinkan," Rue said. "We couldn't just change plans right then and turn toward Ginkan, we had too many things with us that we were planning to drop off here. Now that we're here, though…"_

_Mytho sighed. "I know it might not be anything to worry about in the end, but there's a major risk that if anything isn't done right away, things will get out of hand. Another problem is that everyone's expecting us to stay for a while…" He trailed off._

"_How could the Raven still be alive?" Fakir asked. "You did slay the raven before, didn't you, Mytho?"_

"_Rue and I did," Mytho answered, "and we pierced its heart straight right through. It was shattered to pieces; all of you saw it."_

"_So then…what's going on here?"_

_There was silence for some moments._

Fakir recalled that Mytho then proceeded to invite them both to the ball that was to be held for the prince and princess's arrival. So, that night they were to arrive at the school (or Mytho and Rue's castle, as it was) for the party.

Fakir shook his head, a little irritated. It seemed that today he couldn't concentrate on his writing. He hadn't written more than a few words since he had sat down here after the meeting. Resignedly, he placed his parchment and quill to the side. Since he hadn't brought his fishing rod with him, he contented himself with watching Ahiru, whom was watching her tall blue acquaintance catch fish with a few swift jabs of her long pointed beak. Sagi, like Ahiru, had a little distinctive feather on her head, except that Sagi had a sort of rightward-pointing blue squiggle instead of Ahiru's long upward pointing yellow feather. Ahiru and Sagi had become fast friends from when they had first met. From what Fakir had seen, Sagi apparently had been a new resident of the lake, and had been asking around for directions. Ahiru, of course, had been happy to help her out, and they had been seen together at the lake ever since.

After some time had passed, it was dusk, and the sky was filled with the orange and gold of a setting sun. It would soon be time for Ahiru and Fakir to attend Mytho's welcoming celebration.

"Ahiru! It's almost time to go," Fakir called out.

Ahiru quacked in response, quacked a farewell to Sagi, and flew over to Fakir. Together they set out for the palace while Sagi watched them with a parting gaze.

As they reached the town borders, they noticed that there were more carriages arriving at the town than usual. They all had the same sort of fashion: baroque, fancy, and expensive-looking.

Ahiru looked a little puzzled. She quacked at Fakir inquiringly.

"What?" Fakir gazed around at what she was looking at, and then replied, "Oh, those people. They're likely here for the gala that Mytho's holding that we're going to. With him being high ranking royalty and all, all sorts of nobility are going to be present at it. No big surprise."

Ahiru nodded, and appeared to have her question answered. They were silent as they entered the town amongst other stagecoaches.

"Oy, what are you doing on the road, pedestrian! Outta the waaaaaaaay!"

"What the – "

One carriage going particularly fast zoomed directly headed for them. The woman driver, who looked like she should've been of nobility, was laughing maniacally while another man in the carriage, wearing what was something like a servant's uniform, desperately tried to calm her down (with no apparent success). It went so fast that Fakir had to dive aside in a panic. Ahiru, blown aside by the speed of the wagon, was knocked toward the other side of the road, high into the air, wheeling around as she went.

"Ahiru!" Fakir cried in horror.

She was knocked so far that she disappeared over a row of buildings as she started to fall back down.

Fakir swore, and dashed towards the direction Ahiru fell. He was further delayed by his needing sidetrack around houses and buildings, and that the many other carriages barred his speedy passage. _Ahiru, I hope you have enough sense to stay where you are…if you can still move…_

o-o-o-o-o

As Ahiru fell, she flapped her wings frantically, hoping to get enough lift to lessen her fall. As luck would have it, she was able to land softly on the cobblestone street. After checking herself through, she found she didn't have as much as a scratch, though she was winded.

_Oh no,_ _now where am I?_Ahiru thought anxiously. _Where's Fakir?_

She surveyed her surroundings. The street was one that she recognized as a few blocks away from where she was before. It was much calmer than the main road, with just about no one except one person in a cloak ambling about behind her.

She paused a moment. _That person…looks kind of familiar…_

Ahiru gazed behind her at the boy dressed in a frayed gray mantle. He had white hair, spread around his head in straight locks, just like…

"Quack!" _That couldn't be…Mytho?!_

Ahiru waddled swiftly towards him. _What's he doing in clothes like that? Why isn't he with Rue-chan?_

The boy's eyes caught on Ahiru. His eyebrows tilted in a puzzled manner. "Oh! …A duck?"

Ahiru gazed at his confused eyes. They weren't the same color…they weren't golden amber, like those of the real Mytho's, but instead a bright azure.

The boy blinked again. "Er…do I…know you?"

Ahiru's shoulders slumped. "Qua…" It couldn't be Mytho. Mytho would recognize her right away as "Tutu," for even though he still did not know that she was Ahiru the girl, he had realized soon before he had first left for his kingdom that Princess Tutu was really a duck.

He studied her for a moment. "'Thought I was someone you knew, huh?" He smiled somewhat apologetically. "Sorry to disappoint."

He sighed to himself, looking back up. "'Least you're not like the other obsessive folks around here…"

Ahiru looked back up as he set off on his way, a little puzzled. Why was he able to understand her so well?

As she gazed at him for several more moments, suddenly he exclaimed, "Whoa!" and fell flat on his face.

"Ouch."

Ahiru stared at him while he clambered back up and dusted himself off. Apparently he had tripped over a small jutting stone in the road.

_Who was that boy?_ Ahiru thought, watching him disappear around a corner. _Where did he come from? Why does he look so much like Mytho?_

She sat there wondering for some moments.

"AHIRU!"

"Quack!" Ahiru glanced around before spotting Fakir racing towards her at top speed, looking as if he had been agonizing every moment before he had found her. Fakir scooped Ahiru right off of her webbed feet and gave her a hug so tight that it nearly squeezed the air out of her. "Are you all right? Are you injured!?"

Ahiru spread her wings in a demonstrating fashion, showing that she was unharmed, and then attempted to explain to him who she had just seen. She made an effort to indicate "someone," and then the best she could do was "see prince", although she wanted to say "I saw someone that looks like the prince".

Struggling to understand, Fakir muttered, "Wait…someone…saw the prince? You saw the prince? Mytho?" Fakir blinked. "You saw Mytho here?"

Ahiru shook her head frantically, and tried to clarify.

Fakir tried again. "Someone else…look at prince?" He shook his head irritably at himself. "Shoot, I don't understand…"

Ahiru sighed in frustration. Talking _did_ have its advantages…

"Quack!" She had an idea. She implied for him to follow her, and set off flying towards the direction that the Mytho look-alike had gone. Fakir dashed after her.

Ahiru turned the corner. There was no one. _Huh?_

She flew up higher to get elevation to check around. In a moment, she found him, his frayed cloak and white hair instantly recognizable.

He was with someone else. Ahiru knew that person…her eyes widened.

o-o-o-o-o

Mytho sat on a thick velvet cushioned chair, his head leaning pensively on his elbow resting on the arm of his seat. The light shining through the window onto the wall to his left was almost turning orange, and the shadows were starting to grow taller. His eyes were misted over, not really looking at where his eyes were focused.

_Ravens…why are they attacking? These letters that we had received…truth be told, there were relatively few of them…could these be isolated incidents, mere coincidences? Or is there something hiding within this situation that I can't see…?_

He seemed too deep in thought to notice the hustling and bustling outside of the study room he sat in.

One young man prowling around nearby was giving orders to all of the other servants and attendants. He wore a simple beige tunic with white cuffs and white pants with a bright vermilion pullover on which a swan over a gold crown, the prince's insignia, was embroidered. His hair was dark brown with flecks of red here and there. He looked much stressed.

"WHAT!? What do you mean he's fallen ill!?" he exclaimed hysterically at a boy who had just given him the news. "He can't just walk out after promising to do the flower arrangement, that's going to be the first thing the guests will see!"

"H-he's too ill to travel all the way here, and he comes from quite a distance…" the boy stammered.

"I don't care! Tell him that he can do the flower arrangement wherever he is and we'll get someone to pick it up if we have to…"

"It's too far away; it'd never make it back in time –"

"FINE! Then get the gardener to pick a selection, and hurry!"

The boy nodded timidly and hurried off down the corridor.

"I presume things are a bit hectic, Komaro?" Mytho asked his first assistant, who was nearly hyperventilating.

"It's been mayhem!" Komaro cried out. "Before, the cook forgot to bring the spices and didn't have enough flour to bake the second batch of biscuits. Then, I heard that one of the footmen got a twisted ankle, so we had to go find a replacement in a damn hurry! And not only that, just now the flower arranger –"

"– fell ill and you had to get the gardener to sort it up instead?" Mytho finished his sentence.

"Precisely!" Komaro spluttered. "I hope you don't mind me saying so, your Highness, but this is a very grueling taking this job to do on my own–"

"But you aren't by yourself," Mytho pointed out, "You have the whole castle to help you out. Even I'd help you out if you'd let me…"

"But…well…" Komaro stammered. "…I-It's my duty to manage them all, and everything…to make sure everyone's doing what they're supposed to…"

"But skulking around bellowing at working passersby?" Mytho shook his head. "Stop stressing out over all of this. These matters are all very trivial in the long run, after all…and besides," he joked, "if you die of anxiety, how will you ever manage anything else again?"

Komaro blinked with a start. "Th-that's right, that would be terrible…I must work extra hard to be more relaxed. Don't stress! _Don't stress!_" he told himself harshly.

Mytho smiled and shook his head again, and stepped out the doorway.

"Oh, your Majesty, are you going to take a walk?" Komaro asked. "There had to be some other reason that you decided to get up besides talking to me…"

"Of course there wouldn't need to be another reason," Mytho replied. "But actually…a walk would be a splendid idea."

"Really?" Komaro said. "If you are, be careful around the main entrance hall, I believe they're sweeping up the floor, and in the ballroom, they're mopping, so…"

"No, not in the castle…outside, in town."

"W-what?!" Komaro stammered. "B-but, there's no one free to escort you, I'm afraid…"

"I won't need one," he replied. "I'm not going on a tour or anything, I just…need some time to think."

Komaro blinked for a couple of seconds, a little taken aback. "Well, if that's what will make you happy, your Highness, by all means, go," he answered. "…You're sure you will be fine by yourself?"

"Yes, Komaro, I can take care of myself," Mytho responded with a sigh. "Seriously, _you_ fret about me almost more than Rue does…" He set off in the direction of the nearest exit.

Komaro stood there, his gray eyes still blinking. He didn't really know what to say to that, so he proceeded to prowl around the castle once more.

o-o-o-o-o

Mytho exited the castle unseen. He wandered around the town, sticking to calmer, less busy streets, so as not to attract attention. He didn't want all the noise.

_Ravens in Ginkan…should I go? But the gathering tonight…everyone will know that I'm gone, and…I don't want anyone else involved. If I leave even at any other time, someone will know that I'm absent anyway…what should I do? Wait? But who knows what the ravens will do while time flutters by…_

He turned a corner. This was a particularly deserted and quiet street, and the silence was almost like a thick cloud shrouding the air surrounding it. His footsteps echoed strangely as he stepped across.

"Ah…" a feminine velvety voice murmured. "The Prince…I was wondering when you would stop by."

Mytho paused and gazed around, searching for the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

"Something occupies your mind, Prince…" the voice continued. Mytho found a heavily curtained doorway to his left. The voice was coming from inside. "…something that threatens you of the dark aspects of your more recent past."

He approached the doorway. "Who are you?"

"No need to fear, Prince…I am only Takako, a mere fortune teller. Please, do enter."

"I've heard of that name before, among the Kinkan servants…" Mytho pushed aside the curtains veiling the entrance and peered inside. "The fortunes I've heard that you tell are very accurate…" It smelled old and musty, and the colors of the dusty furniture and fabric draped about inside were faded in the dim candlelight. No one was to be seen. "Uncannily accurate…"

Mytho looked all around, searching for a source of the voice when a woman in a dark mantle with white fur surrounding the shoulders quietly swept into the room. The woman with long dark coffee-colored hair and white bangs held a palm-sized jar with amber-colored dust in it.

"I know you will need this," she told him, giving Mytho the jar, "so I offer it to you ahead of time. It will make things easier."

Mytho glanced at the jar. "What is it?"

"If one takes this dust and sprinkles it onto their eyes – the eyelid will suffice – their eyes will modify into the color of the powder. In this case, of course, it is your exact match."

Mytho frowned, bewildered. "What will I need this for?"

Takako gazed at him intently with her golden eyes, a most enigmatic smile growing on her lips. "You will need it, Prince."

"Just to warn you, Prince," Takako added before he left, "it takes only water to wash off dust."

o-o-o-o-o

A young woman surrounded by mirrors and exercise bars stood in fifth position in a room of the academy. With her curly black hair tied back in a bun, dressed in her favorite claret ballet skirt, Rue danced gracefully and wordlessly around the room.

Komaro peeked into the room. "Oh, Princess…there you are. I was wondering where you had gone –"

"Quiet. I'm practicing for the presentation after the guests arrive. Don't break my concentration."

"I-I wasn't about to," Komaro replied quickly. "Just checking around…I'll go now…" Komaro's head disappeared from the open crack between the double doors.

A pause. "Wait."

Komaro's head poked back in. "Yes, your Highness?"

"Where's Mytho?" Rue inquired. "I thought he would be here to rehearse with me, but I haven't seen him since we arrived."

"Actually, he said he was going out for a walk a little while ago," Komaro replied. "I don't know why, but he looked distracted about something…"

"He's been like that ever since before we got here." Rue shook her head. "I need to talk to him. He can't keep brooding about like that."

Komaro nodded slowly. "I agree."

"Komaro?"

"Yes?" Komaro responded.

"Refer to me as 'your Highness' or 'Rue-sama'."

"Yes, your Highness." Komaro answered with a bow. He could never really tell whether she was joking or not when she said that, but with her, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Komaro once again disappeared from the doorway, and almost as an afterthought he closed the door quietly.

After Komaro left, a few moments later, Rue chuckled to herself over her servant's overly cautious mannerisms and resumed her practice.

o-o-o-o-o

Mytho exited the fortune-teller's abode, putting the jar of eye-color-changing dust into his cloak pocket. He had no idea what the fortune-teller was getting at, and she seemed to insist on being vague, but perhaps she knew something he didn't …

Either way, he was back out on his stroll. Soon he'd need to head back to the academy –somehow it still seemed more like a school than a castle to him – and greet his guests at the gala. His unease intensified with that thought. He knew it was the news of ravens that was on his mind; it kept bothering him, pestering for him to do something…but what? How?

He turned the corner. The whole street was still deserted and quiet, and only one person with his cloak hood down stood walking on the road. Mytho, occupied in his thoughts, didn't look at the person closely until he was just several feet in front of him.

Trutho stopped in his tracks and stared with bewildered blue eyes at the person in front of him. It seemed that the only real difference between himself and the stranger was the color of their eyes. There was anxiety in those amber-colored eyes, he noticed.

Mytho realized he was being watched, and his head came up and met the other boy's. He blinked a couple times, his eyes missing the tension they had before. They were just blank now. Trutho blinked a couple times back.

Mytho's mouth moved silently as if he didn't have any breath left for words. He soon gave up on trying to speak, and strode towards Trutho hurriedly, as if Mytho were afraid he would disappear if he didn't get there soon enough. Mytho stopped abruptly in front of Trutho, staring at him with intense, astounded eyes. Then, before Trutho knew what was happening, Mytho embraced him tightly, bursting into joyful tears.

Trutho was flabbergasted. "Huh? What…_what the heck_!?"

"Quack?!"

Ahiru swooped down from the sky, followed by Fakir from an adjacent street. They ran to the two identical-looking boys, one much more confused than the other.

"Mytho…" Fakir trailed off. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" the Mytho with blue eyes exclaimed.

Ahiru landed on Fakir's shoulder. Trutho stopped his hysterics when he spotted Ahiru. "Hey, that's the duck I saw earlier…" He pointed offhandedly at Fakir's shoulder.

Ahiru quacked and nodded vigorously toward Fakir. He realized that he was the one she was trying to tell him about.

"Mytho…" Fakir glanced at the real Mytho. "Do you…know this person?"

At this, Mytho looked very sad. "I…did." There was a strange weight on the last word.

Trutho's face fell. His head drooped, lowering his eyes to the ground. "Well, I…I just don't remember…I never could remember my past beyond a certain point."

Realization struck Fakir. "Wait…Mytho, he isn't…couldn't be…your younger brother…could he?"

Mytho gazed back into Trutho's azure eyes. He could sense unease behind them, as well as a shrouded sadness, but above all else, he still could recognize the curious little brother from so many years ago in his past. "…He is. There's no mistaking him. But something must have happened…"

Mytho shuddered with unspoken rage. "Something must have happened…when he was…"

Fakir suddenly understood. "Mytho, it's all right. He's safe now; that's what matters."

Ahiru, thoroughly confused, blinked at Fakir, and quacked inquiringly.

"I'll explain later…" he whispered to Ahiru, glancing at Mytho.

After some moments, Mytho took a breath and seemed to recover himself. "We must return to the palace. Please follow me. I think it would be better off if we went unnoticed." Trutho instinctively pulled over his hood and huddled behind Mytho, as if to hide in his shadow.

Fakir followed quietly, and Ahiru, perceiving the collective silence between all of them, held her questions for later.


	2. 27 AKT: The Duck and the Pauper :part b:

**Princess Tutu**  
-_Kapitel des Vogel_-  
-鳥の章-  
(Chapter of the Bird)

27. AKT "The Duck and the Pauper"  
~ Dornröschen : Walzer ~

- Part 2 -

Throughout the way back to the academy, Mytho held an occupied silence, seeming to be considering something. Trutho seemed more at a loss for words rather than just trying to keep quiet. The sun was almost below the horizon, and the moon was starting to glow overhead.

When they reached a calm back entrance to the academy, Mytho whispered briefly that they should continue to follow him quietly, but not to act as if anything was wrong. They entered, and crossed the grounds. It was of course impossible to really sneak around, with all the servants and other royal staff members bustling about, but everyone was so busy no one really paid much mind.

Finally, Mytho found a quiet, unoccupied room, and led everyone into it. He seemed more apprehensive than ever. The natural light outside was starting to get dim, so he lit the lamp in the room.

As soon as Mytho closed the door, Trutho burst out, "You're Mytho, aren't you?" as Fakir sat down on a nearby chair.

Mytho blinked, unsure of what this meant. "Yes…"

Trutho's fist banged on his other palm with realization. "That explains it. You've got to be the one everyone kept mistaking me for. Then, you must be…some kind of royalty, I guess."

There was a fleeting look of disappointment in Mytho's eyes, but it was gone in moments and replaced with guarded concern. "Did they realize that you weren't me?"

Trutho shook his head. "…Why? Is that important?"

"Well…I have…something in mind…but…" Mytho trailed off, turning to the window.

Trutho slumped down into another chair and sighed with resignation as Mytho gazed outside. Fakir, remembering old tendencies, lightheartedly checked to be sure the window was too high for him to climb up and jump off of before settling himself back down into his chair.

"Quack?"

"Hm?" Fakir turned to the duck on his shoulder.

Ahiru glanced at Mytho, looked back at Fakir with an angry face, then a questioning one.

"Mytho, angry—" Fakir remembered Ahiru's earlier confusion. "Oh, that… it's kind of a long story, but…did you ever read the entire story of _The Prince and the Raven_?"

Ahiru shook her head. _I don't think I ever got to read the entire book, s'matter of fact..._

"It's been a while since I've read it myself...well, not too many people remember this part very well, since it was only a brief, but before the start of the story, the prince had a little brother, and they lived quietly together in a castle within a peaceful town."

Although still looking the other direction, Trutho slid his chair closer towards them, his ears perked up.

"The prince and his little brother liked to play in the castle's courtyards. The prince's little brother would dash around in the grass, poking around at everything and exploring, while the prince himself would sit at a nearby distance, watching him play.

"Then, for some reason, ravens began appearing around the castle. Since ravens weren't known to live anywhere near that area, the prince became suspicious. For the next several days he wouldn't even let his little brother out of the castle. Eventually, with no incident, he let his little brother outside, but kept close by him, with his sword in hand. The ravens lingered around the castle, but they did nothing, barely stirring from their perches. Gradually, the prince's panic subsided, and as before his little brother amused himself around the castle grounds, with his older brother calmly minding him. The ravens remained at a distance, still scrutinizing them warily."

Trutho, listening intently, blinked curiously.

"And then, one day, when the prince was watching his brother skipping stones across a pond, a giant raven, bigger than all the rest and the leader of them all, swooped down and seized him clean off the rocks, carrying him off into the sky. The prince dashed to try to help his brother, but the other ravens blocked him, making it impossible to see where they were headed. The prince, having let his guard down, hadn't brought his sword, and so he ran inside the palace to grab it. But, when he had gotten back outside, the cloud of ravens had disappeared. There only remained a few on the towers, cackling at him. His brother was nowhere to be seen."

Ahiru's eyes wilted sadly. "Quack…"

"The prince conducted a kingdom-wide search for him, but no one was able to find any trace of him. His little brother was lost, gone forever - just about everyone was sure. The prince still held hope, and kept searching. After a long time of fruitless searching, his hope too started to fade. But one thing didn't - his rage towards the ravens for taking his little brother from him. From then on, the ravens were always his enemy, and so…"

Fakir glanced back at Mytho at the window. "…That's how the animosity between them had begun."

Trutho, who had been leaning in his chair towards them, slowly slid back in his chair, thoughtful.

Mytho took a deep breath from where he was standing, closed his eyes, and turned back around from the window. When his eyes opened again, he seemed decided.

"I have a plan," Mytho announced, almost to himself. Everyone in the room turned towards him, wondering exactly what he was talking about.

He paused, wondering where to start. "Do you know of the trouble in Ginkan?"

"You mean, the ravens…?" Fakir shook his head. "You've been thinking about that all along, haven't you?"

"This may sound mad, but I think this is the best – perhaps only – way things will work out."

"Huh?" Trutho blinked. "How do you know about the ravens?"

"…How…? What do you mean?" Mytho asked in response, puzzled. "I got a message as I was returning to Kinkan about raven attacks in Ginkan…"

"I guess the problem didn't go away after I did," Trutho remarked bleakly.

"What do you mean by that?" Mytho inquired, almost interrogatively.

"Um, er…I was in Ginkan before, and ravens kind of, I don't know, seemed to stalk me, or something like that…" He stumbled upon his words, as if the recollection had flustered him a bit.

Mytho's expression turned solemn. "That settles it."

Trutho's brows tilted nervously. "Wh-what…?"

"I must go there, immediately. The ravens will get out of hand if nothing is done. Yet, if I am absent, people will suspect something, and sooner or later will find out where I am, whereupon they'll implore me to come back out of fear for my safety, or for many other reasons I might be wanted here.. And…" Mytho looked somewhat sheepish. "I don't know if I'll ever hear the end of it from Rue if she knew…"

"Then, what does this have to do with me?" Trutho inquired. "What did I say that made you so sure about something?"

"You'll be safe if you stay here in the academy, and within the town," Mytho replied. "If I'm gone, and you take my place, no one will be the wiser, and I will be able to take care of the ravens in the meanwhile. And…I can't risk losing you again."

Trutho blinked confusedly. "B-but…I…"

Fakir spoke up in Trutho's pause. "Mytho, you don't have to go through all this trouble. I could go to Ginkan just as easily and deal with the problems there. There's no need for you to be gone if you'd be missed here." Ahiru, on Fakir's shoulder, quacked heartily in agreement, indicating that she was up to such a trip as well.

Mytho's fist clenched involuntarily. "No!"

Fakir blinked, startled at Mytho's reaction.

Taken aback by his own harshness, Mytho composed himself and said more softly, "No…Fakir, Tutu, I appreciate what you're offering to do, but…this is my problem. My responsibility. I have to deal with the ravens personally."

"Then, we'll come with you," Fakir offered. "It'll be easier if there are more people with you."

Mytho shook his head. "I couldn't ask it of you…" Seeing Fakir's determined face, he added, "And if I have too many people with me, it may attract too much attention, thus giving me away."

"We can still help," Fakir insisted with a complementing quack from Ahiru.

Mytho sighed. "You two truly are the most caring companions one could have… I suppose you could keep an eye out for Trutho for me while I'm gone…"

Fakir closed his eyes. "It's fine like that, but still…" His frown deepened. "If you're planning to go alone like this…think about it, Mytho. First of all things, how can he—" he indicated Trutho off to the side, "pass off for you? He might look like you, but he's not completely the same. His eyes, for example." He gestured to Trutho's azure eyes. "His resemblance might be enough for people who don't know you, like the people in the town, but others are bound to see the difference right away."

Mytho paused a moment. He knew Fakir had a point. Then, a woman's voice in his mind murmured from a memory, "…_modify into the color of the powder. In this case, of course, it is your exact match._" He took out the jar in his pocket. "So, that was what the purpose of this was…"

"What is that?"

Mytho told Fakir about what Takako had said about the jar.

"This dust stuff, if you rub it on your eyes, it makes them change color?" Trutho already had the jar in his hands, and was looking at it all over, examining it curiously like a small child. "Do you have to dust it _into_ your eyes, or can you do it with your eyes closed?"

After realizing that the jar was gone from his hand, Mytho replied, "Well, you can just dust it on your eyelids…but…"

Trutho immediately took some of it into his forefingers and sprinkled some on his right eye. He blinked a couple times, and then turned to the mirror on the wall.

At first nothing seemed to happen. But abruptly, the color of Trutho's right eye faded from blue to amber, matching Mytho's own. He gaped at this, staring at his right eye with awe.

Then, very unexpectedly, Komaro walked right into the room, looking around.

"Oh, your Majesty, there you are, I was wondering when you would get…back…" He spotted Trutho by the mirror.

Trutho realized someone had entered, and glanced back towards Komaro, startled.

Komaro blinked dumbly. "…Huh?"

Mytho put his hand over his face. "Oh no, not this…"

Komaro started to put up a finger, then realized it was rude to point, and his finger wilted as his eyes rolled from Trutho to Mytho and back several times. "Er…Mytho-sama…and Mytho-sama? Or Mytho-sama with left blue eye…uh…your Highness, or is it you…?" he asked, looking back at Trutho. "Could one of you, or, er…"

He erupted into a panic. "Could _someone_ tell me what's going on?"

Mytho put a finger to his mouth nervously. "Shh, keep it down!"

Fakir quickly got up closed the door, checking that there was no one else in the hallway.

"I suppose there's nothing for it now," Mytho sighed, "I can't keep it a secret from you, at least."

"F-first off…who is this other person, who looks like you a _little too_ _much_?"

"Umm," Trutho spoke up before Mytho, "he says that I'm his little brother. But otherwise…I don't remember him. But I could have…since I do remember having forgot a lot, if you know what I mean…"

Mytho glanced outside. The sun was completely set now, and the stars were beginning to appear. "Komaro, what time is it?" he asked with an air of urgency.

Komaro, still quite taken aback, calmed down as best as he could and replied, "A-actually, I went around to tell you that the ball will soon commence, that the final preparations are being made…I had figured you'd be back by now…"

Mytho grimaced to himself. "There's very little time, then…I'll have to work swiftly." He turned to Trutho. "Could you dust some of that in your other eye?"

"O-okay," Trutho replied. "But, uh…does this stuff come off?"

"I believe that water will wash it off," Mytho answered, remembering Takako's parting words.

"What are you doing, your Highness…?" Komaro queried uneasily. "Why are you…?"

"I am going to Ginkan," Mytho replied, "I have to help the people there deal with the ravens. I can't delay any more than I have been."

"What? All of a sudden like this?" Komaro was flabbergasted. "I mean, surely you could wait until _after_ the opening gala, and then it could be arranged more formally, and then people will know you're coming—"

"Which is precisely what I _don't_ want."

Komaro only blinked, but Mytho knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

"If I let everyone know I'm going, a big fuss would erupt amongst all the royal staff, I know it. There would be all sorts of interruptions and holdups, trying to prepare, and it would be weeks before I could actually get out of the palace. That's saying nothing of how the town would react." Mytho sighed exasperatedly. "Much can happen in that short time of 'preparation'. I must help those people! Any delay would be putting them in danger, and ravens – I can't risk it. Never again."

Mytho took on a calm but just as fierce appearance as he had when he remembered what happened to his brother. He had made up his mind. Fakir knew that it was in his very nature to rescue those in danger, his instinct to protect weaker ones. There was no talking him out of this.

Finally snapping out of his shock, Komaro asked, "Does this mean that _your brother_ will be replacing you in the castle?" At this, Trutho looked startled, as if it hadn't really occurred to him until now. "Who will be going with you?"

"That's the only possible way I can think of that will work," Mytho replied, "I'll go alone. I wouldn't want one more person put in danger because of me."

"Your Majesty, pardon me," Komaro said with a respectful bow, "but above all else, if I cannot persuade you to delay your leave, I must come with you. Going alone on a mission like this is too dangerous; what if something happened to you? How would anyone be able to help?"

"Our offer still stands as well, Mytho," Fakir added while Ahiru nodded furiously. "We'll all go with you."

"Komaro…Fakir, Tutu…I couldn't put you all in danger…"

"If these ravens are as dangerous as you're treating them, then both you and I would be less in danger if there were more heads instead of one."

"Komaro…"

"Sire, to tell you the truth, I don't know if I'd stand it if I had to stay behind," Komaro went on. "I tell you, I'd go mad; I'd always be wondering, what's happening now? Are you hurt? Has anything gone wrong? What if you were to need help and no one was around to assist you? I'd worry myself to death!"

_I suppose he's got a point there, especially for him…_ "Still, Komaro –"

"Sir!" Komaro's expression grew resolute. Mytho noticed his gradual change in address and this meant he was getting more and more persistent. "Whatever my opinion of the matter is, it is my job to assist you in whatever tasks you may need to perform. If I stay here, I wouldn't be doing my job, would I?"

Komaro bowed low, a knee to the ground, a fist over his heart. "Please…let me be of assistance." Mytho knew that at this point, if he absolutely didn't want to listen, the prince would remind Komaro of the respect he owed, and to remember the proper addresses that he had forgotten in his resoluteness. Then he, the prince, would be able to do as he wished and Komaro would back off despite his own personal judgment.

But did Mytho really want to do that?

"All right, Komaro," Mytho gave in. "I suppose it would do me well to have one accompanying me. How soon will you be prepared to leave?"

"Well…as soon as you are, Mytho-sama," Komaro replied.

"Good. We best leave as soon as possible, as fast as we can get –"

"Hold it, your Highness!" Komaro exclaimed. "Meaning no insult to your Grace, I think the anxiety this matter has caused you prevents you from thinking this matter through clearly. Right now, the roads and gates are crowded with people. If we leave now, we'll be spotted for sure, and your hopes for a quiet exit are ruined. Let us wait a little; as soon as most of the guests have arrived and things have settled down, we can sneak out around the back and no one will be the wiser."

Mytho considered this. "Yes, that sounds more reasonable. That means, though, that I will need to spend the time during the beginning of the gala for covert preparations, and that means…" He turned to Trutho. "You will need to stand in my place at the dining. Fakir, Tutu, if you would be so kind as to keep watch over him –"

"What – now?" Trutho exclaimed.

"Please, little brother," Mytho pleaded, "I know this may be asking much of you after having just met again, but there's nothing else to be done. Please, dress in my formal garments and stand in for me until I return from my mission. I beg this of you."

Trutho looked at Mytho. Trutho didn't know that face very well, but he could tell that Mytho knew Trutho's like the back of his hand. It made him feel awkward, almost guilty that he couldn't remember what the other did. It reminded Trutho of his past frustrations whenever he had tried in vain to remember his past.

He had no idea what was going on right now, and he felt inclined to object to something, but maybe…just maybe, if he stuck around for a while, maybe he'd get a glimpse into that past that had been eluding him for so long.

"All right," Trutho answered, taking a breath. "What do I do?"

o-o-o-o-o

_CLANK. Click clank click clank click clank…_ The cluster of gears had begun revolving once again.

A mouth with a curly white beard smirked as Drosselmeyer's characteristic chuckle escaped his lips. "Heh heh heh heh…so, this is how the story starts once more…"

"Tussle-mayor's coat is getting caught in the gears-zura!"

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir sat down at the long, large dining table where all of the nobles and others invited were to sit. It was a couple seats away from the two end seats, which were slightly more ornate and currently unoccupied. Ahiru took a special seat on Fakir's shoulder, admiring the intricate silverware.

Fakir knew that he wouldn't be able to relax too much as a guest; he'd have to keep a close eye on Trutho and be ready to clear things up if he slipped, as he had promised Mytho before the prince left to prepare. And as confident as Trutho looked, he'd need it.

"Now presenting their royal majesties, the Prince Siegfried and Princess Rue!"

Rue and "Mytho" entered the room through a large archway, servants on either side. Rue had her arm around Trutho's, whose agitation was barely constrained. His eyes, dyed to the color of his older brother's golden brown, held a potent mixture of confusion and apprehension. Ostensibly, it appeared as if Rue did not notice anything, except if one observed closely; she glanced at him periodically, scrutinizing his every move.

When they got to their seats, Trutho made as if to sit down, but when Rue looked at him with puzzlement, he slowly stood back up. All of the others stood up as well. Rue gazed at Trutho expectantly. Trutho stood there, blinking, as all the nobles along the row of chairs stared at him in the same way Rue was. He couldn't stand it. He fidgeted nervously, tongue-tied, driven beyond any verbal response with so many people staring at him.

"Oy, get started already!" A lady noble muttered loudly. Fakir glared at her, and then recognized her as the one who had nearly run over Ahiru before with a darkening expression. Ahiru glowered at the ginger-haired young lady, and then stuck her tail out at her. Some of the other nobles glanced derisively at the young woman as well.

Rue glared at Trutho in disbelief, and then turned to the politely waiting audience. "I would like to welcome you all to the homecoming gala we have gathered to celebrate tonight." This was followed by light applause.

As Rue went on with the speech, Fakir and Ahiru heard a servant of the offending ginger-haired lady whisper to her, "Kamome-sama, please, try to be polite…it's a formal occasion…" Lady Kamome snorted at this.

When Rue had finished her talk, she and Trutho sat down. Trutho had such a bad case of stage fright that it looked like he might be sick. Rue had those scrutinizing eyes again.

Fakir grimaced. This was not a good outset. At this rate, Trutho would be found out by dessert. Or sooner. Fakir wracked his brain, but he had no idea what he could do at this point to alleviate suspicions.

When Trutho began eating, he held the fork in such a way that he gripped the handle of it in his fist, instead of like gracefully holding a quill like Mytho usually did. Rue looked curiously at this, but said nothing. She thought a moment, and then asked him a question.

"Do you remember, Mytho, when we danced together when I was just a child?"

Trutho, of course, remembered no such thing. He tried to play along, hoping he'd be able to pass it off. "Er…yes, I remember now, um…you were just so cute, and I…enjoyed those times…"

Rue didn't look convinced, but she seemed to take it as partially adequate.

With Rue right beside Trutho, Fakir couldn't possibly get a chance to prod him in the right direction without her seeing. This wasn't working out at all. Fakir shook his head. In his haste, Mytho made some serious errors in judgment, even with his first assistant with a cooler head and Fakir himself giving him counsel. This could have been foreseen, but how could they have anticipated all the short ends with such short notice?

Rue asked Trutho, "Do you remember when we finally became Prince and Princess?"

Trutho answered shakily, "…Y-yes, I remember."

"Tell me about it again, won't you?"

_Oh, great…_ "Well," Trutho began, "I remember when we first met…" _Wait, she talked about Mytho dancing with her when she was a kid, right?_ "I remember, I thought that you were…charming."

Rue kept her gaze on him, expecting more.

"Um…and when we finally were together, I…" _Cut me some slack, won't you? __You're sure one tough cookie to fool…_

Rue thought for a moment, and then asked another question. "I hope you remember recently…when we accidentally fell out of the window together?"

Fakir winced. Unless it had happened when they were away, nothing of that sort had happened to them…

Trutho feigned knowledge like he had been. "…I remember that now. It was lucky neither of us was hurt very badly…"

Fakir spotted the suspicious look on Rue's face and buried his face in his hand. Clearly, such had not been the case. Disaster was coming.

But as soon as it had appeared, Rue's expression became closed. Because of this, in Trutho's own relief, the fake prince did not notice the air of wariness on her face. Fakir noticed her eyes dart around the room. She seemed to calm down and start eating, but the closed expression remained on her face.

"Quack…?" Ahiru whispered to Fakir worriedly.

"No, Ahiru, I don't think all is well now…" Fakir shook his head. "The only thing we can do is keep an eye out…if only it wasn't Rue, and someone else farther away from him…"

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Huh?" Fakir glanced to his left to see an old nobleman wearing a dull red coat and a monocle frown at him concernedly.

"You haven't eaten for ages," he noted aloud. "Is something upsetting you?"

"No…of course not," he answered halfheartedly. He had barely eaten anything, that was true, but he was too nervous then to feel much hunger.

His head pricked up when Rue finally spoke to Trutho again.

"Mytho, could you follow me? We have something to talk about…"

Trutho made a nervous half-smile. "Oh, really? Wh-what about?"

As clueless as 'Mytho' was, Fakir realized the seriousness of the situation. He knew he had to follow. So, when Rue led Trutho away to a quieter area, Fakir quietly excused himself and he and Ahiru followed them loosely behind.

Fakir overheard two noblewomen talking as he left.

"Where are the Prince and Princess going?" one asked another.

"Oh, I know…they must be getting ready their ballet performance after dinner. You know, this town is all about ballet…it's one of the main subjects at the fine arts school their palace hosts, besides painting and music and all…"

o-o-o-o-o

When Rue and Trutho arrived at a spare bedroom, they went in and Rue closed the door. She was calm. She took a breath.

Then, she went on attack. "You. Who are you, and what did you do with Mytho!"

Trutho held his hands up nervously. "Uh, um…er, hahahaha, Rue, that's um, very funny…"

"I am not joking." Rue scowled. "I will ask you again. Who are you, and where is Mytho?" She advanced on him. "I'm warning you, if you don't tell me right now this instant…!"

Trutho backed up against the door, terrified. Then, with an outcry, he exclaimed, "H-he made me do it, all right!"

Rue's eyes widened. "What? What do you mean by –"

Fakir, just outside right then, burst in at that moment, sending Trutho careening off onto the side of the wall face first, causing none too much discomfort to him.

"Ow!" Trutho got himself off of the wall, and glared at the person behind the door furiously. "Hey, what's the big…!"

Trutho noticed that Fakir was standing behind the door. "—ide…a…?"

Rue accosted him immediately. "What are you doing here? Do you have something to do with this?"

"Mytho left to fight the ravens," Fakir said simply, knowing what Mytho had told him to do if Rue found out.

Rue's mouth dropped in shock. After some moments, she shook her head with frustration. "I should have known. That was what had been bothering him the whole day, wasn't it? Mytho…that's just like you to fret so much about people who could possibly need your help. You had to act so rashly, Mytho…I hope he knows what he's doing…"

"Komaro went with him," Fakir added. "I think we'll be able to keep in contact if we use Komaro as an excuse for messages."

Rue shook her head again, sighing tersely. "I suppose Mytho would have left already, wouldn't he," she muttered jadedly. "Even if I did catch up to him…I doubt I'd get him to change his mind."

She turned to Trutho. "Who are you, anyway?"

Trutho scratched his head. "He's been telling me all along I'm his little brother, or something like that, but I lost my memory of when I was little, so…"

Rue's eyes widened again. "What, _you're_…?" She blinked a few times. "I had no idea that his little brother had still survived…"

She went from surprised to acquiescent. "All right, I don't really have any choice, then. We'll just have to play along with Mytho's charade and hope for the best. In the meantime, we have a pas de deux to perform."

Trutho blinked bewilderedly. "A poddy-what?"

Rue glared at Trutho. "Are you trying to be funny?"

"What?" Trutho replied sincerely. "I don't have any idea what that…phrase you said was."

"Don't you know _anything_ about ballet?"

"Ballet? It's kinda hard to learn things like that on the streets, you know. And definitely not that…uh, padey-doo thing."

Fakir rolled his eyes. "A pas de deux is when usually a man and a woman dance a special ballet dance together. It's relatively advanced."

Trutho's eyes widened. "Wait, are you saying you want me to do _ballet?_" He shook his head vehemently. "No way, I am _not_ going in front of an audience and dancing tippy-toe with a tutu on!"

Rue was so insulted she was speechless for several moments. Even Ahiru quacked loudly in protest.

"Men don't wear the tutus, you know," Fakir replied evenly.

"That's not the point!" Trutho exclaimed. "I don't know anything about ballet, and you're saying I need to go out there and pretend I do? Do some ballet dance that I have no idea what it is? I am _not_ doing it!"

"I wouldn't ever, in any case, not with you," Rue replied scathingly. "But…as _much_ as I would like to abandon the idea right this moment, it's just about impossible. I couldn't simply go up and tell everyone we were too ill to dance when we came to dinner just fine…"

"But it would be just as awkward to perform with this clown on stage," Fakir pointed out. Trutho glared at him.

"What should we do then?" Rue asked with exasperation.

Fakir sighed. "If it comes to it, I'll dance instead."

Rue merely looked at him.

"I'm doing it for Mytho. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's his plan, and somehow I let him persuade me to let him do it." He paused. "I suppose I owe him that much anyway."

Rue took a breath. "All right. That's the best we can do." She opened the door. "It's almost time. This way."

"See you later, Ahiru," Fakir said a goodbye to the duck on his shoulder as it flapped off onto the ground. Then Fakir followed Rue out of the room.

There was silence for some moments as Trutho stood there without a word, with Ahiru looking curiously up at him.

Finally, he turned around and walked towards the bed. He stood there for a moment, then turned on a side and flopped onto it dejectedly, arms splaying across the bedspread, as if he were some useless, insignificant rag doll. His eyes clenched shut. When he opened them, they were shimmering moistly, and his eyes faded back to his native color.

Ahiru waddled up to him. Her azure eyes held gentle concern, gazing up at the boy who resembled the prince.

Trutho sat up again slowly, discreetly wiping the wetness out between his eyelids, and glanced down at the feathery yellow bird with his bright cerulean eyes. "Hey, duck. It's good to know that someone in the world's still on my side."

Ahiru quacked cheerfully in reply.

"I mean…" Trutho hesitated, and then took a breath and started confessing all the thoughts crowding his mind. "You know, I didn't expect anything to happen when I came to Kinkan. I knew I'd have a fresh start and everything, but then when people started paying attention to me, kind of _too_ much, I'm wondering what's going on. I don't like that many people staring at me, you know? And then I just come upon a guy who looks just like me and he tells me I'm his long lost brother? That's kind of a lot to swallow already. And then he has some issues with ravens in my old town too, and he leaves me to pretend to be him in all this royalty stuff I have no idea about. And then, after all that, I have to do a ballet performance with this professional performer lady when I barely know what ballet is beyond standing on your toes in a tutu? It's just too much for me to deal with on my lonesome."

Ahiru looked thoughtful. "Quack quack!" _Ballet isn't all that hard if you know the basics!_

"Yeah, but you see, that's the problem," Trutho replied. "I _don't_ know the basics, or anything about it really. I've never danced ballet in my life, or as far as I can remember I guess…"

Ahiru blinked. "…Qua?"

It was just like the first time they met: Trutho could somehow understand what she was saying, despite being a duck. How else could he have known she was talking about ballet just now?

"Oh…that…" Trutho impulsively glanced left and right. "Well, I suppose it's all right to tell _you…_"

He made sure the door was closed, and then sat back down on the bed and held up his hand in a whisper toward her. "I can understand you because, well, ever since I could remember I've had the ability to communicate with animals. You're a duck, so that would include you."

Ahiru's eyes widened with awe. "Qua…" _Wow…_

Trutho sat back up and smiled. "Actually, I think I can understand you even better than other animals, for some reason. It's like you're used to talking with humans!"

Ahiru sweatdropped. Indeed, she _was_ used to talking with humans, especially since she had been a human for quite a while herself. But of course, he didn't know that. She smiled sort of awkwardly. "…Q-quack…" _Eheh…wh-what do you know…_

Trutho shrugged. "Well, it makes sense. You stick around with that other guy all the time, so that sorta thing would be natural, I suppose." He lay back down on the bed. "Yeah…anyway…" He sighed. "I guess I have a problem if I'm supposed to know ballet to pretend to be that prince, but I don't. I won't be able to put up this act for long."

Ahiru thought a moment, and then put her two webbed feet together, heel-to-heel so that her feet pointed opposite directions. Then, she made a horizontal circle with her wings level with her shoulders. Trutho watched curiously.

Ahiru quacked at him, asking him to do as she did. He might've felt kind of embarrassed to do some kind of weird pose, but he reasoned with himself, if a duck could do it, why couldn't he? Puzzled, but compliant, he copied her movements. She quacked again.

Trutho blinked. "So that's…'first position?'"

Ahiru assented merrily. "Quack!"

Trutho looked thoughtful. "This is actually ballet?" A look of surprised ease crossed his face. "Not too bad, actually…what's 2nd position?"

Ahiru spread her legs apart, but kept her webbed toes still pointing outwards. She did the same with her wings.

"That's all?" He imitated her. "Second position, huh…what's third? And there's a fourth? How about a fifth? And a sixth? No, I guess not…" _I wonder what Rue-san and…that other guy – didn't catch his name – are dancing now…_

o-o-o-o-o

Rue balanced one foot on a stool, tying her other dark red pointe shoe. She wore her trademark claret performance ballet skirt from her prior days at the academy, along with her black hair elegantly tied back in a bun.

Fakir appeared, dressed in a simple but appropriate blue shirt tied in a knot at the bottom and black pants suitable for dancing.

Rue finished strapping her tie and stood back up. She glanced towards the lighted stage beyond the stage curtains. "All right. Remember, first I go on by myself, and when I start the fouetté twirl, you come in. Ad-libbing is terribly unprofessional, but it will have to do." She looked dutifully resigned to her fate.

"I'll do my best," Fakir replied.

The lights around the stage dimmed while the audience quieted in excitement, except for one ginger-haired lady who seemed to quiet down only because everyone else was. A servant went in front of the curtain and spoke an introduction. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present…the Prince and Princess, dancing a pas de deux."

The audience applauded. Many barely knew what a pas de deux was, but had heard of Kinkan's skill in the arts, particularly ballet, so they were looking forward to a dazzling performance.

The curtain lifted. The lights were on, but no dancer was on stage. The audience waited only moments when Rue danced onto the stage, twirling slowly and gracefully as she went, as if she were dancing to a gentle waltz. Then she stopped and stood on the point of her toeshoe in an arabesque. From there she turned the other direction and leaped, finishing the move with a twirl.

The audience watched eagerly, wondering when the other dancer would appear on the stage.

Rue pirouetted around the stage, adding various elegant arm motions that made the stage seem like a separate, surreal world. After she reached the center of the stage again she started to spin swiftly around in place, waiting.

As she whirled around, Fakir strode gracefully onstage, came up next to Rue, and held a hand out to her. Rue stopped twirling and looked at Fakir.

This confused the audience, though they were silent about it. Who was this young man? Where was the prince? After some moments, they told themselves that perhaps the prince was to come later in the program. They kept watching.

Fakir and Rue took each other's hands and marched gracefully to the center of the stage. Then, they began the movements of the pas de deux. Their expressions were strictly professional, appropriate and with flair but no passion, particularly not toward each other. A ballet expert might have noticed this difference, but not the unknowing audience in front of them. The pair then promenaded around the stage. It was as if they were in a ballroom, the star virtuosos, while everything else – the scenery, the music, even the audience – simply faded into the background.

No one's eyes were looking away from the dancers. No one had any idea of who was leaving in the opposite direction while the former Knight and the Princess danced in front of the audience.

o-o-o-o-o

Two figures on horseback exited the gates of Kinkan. One was a cloaked figure on a dignified white horse. The other young man was not cloaked, but had on a high-ranked royal servant's uniform, riding on a sturdy brown steed.

The cloaked individual said to the other, "I think we may ride faster outside of the town gates. There will be no one to see us this late in the night."

After an acquiescing nod from the uncloaked young man, the one with the mantle on took off his hood. His pearly hair glowed in the moonlight like a soft lantern in the darkness. The true prince tugged his reigns and his mount broke from standing to a gallop, and the other young man echoed him.

In a small lake nearby, a great blue heron dozed in the reeds of the shallow shores. A noise roused her. Her eyes slid open groggily. At first, she closed her eyes again, but after the sounds grew louder, she raised her head and strode over to the banks to take a glance at what was happening.

The night brought in slight fog surrounding the pond, but in the bright moonlight, Sagi could make out the figures on horseback galloping by. One was on a brown horse, and he seemed to have servant's robes on. The other person on the white mount, however, had distinctive short white hair, on which a golden crown was placed. A prince, then, Sagi noted to herself

By this time, the two young men had already passed by. Sagi chewed over this for a little while, wondering why a prince would be out this late at night on horseback. If what Ahiru had told her before was correct, hadn't he just returned from somewhere? Perhaps he had forgotten something back where he came from. But wouldn't he just send a servant instead of getting it himself? She saw that a person looking like his servant was with him, but…

Finding she was too sleepy to ponder this in entirety, she made a mental note to bring the matter up to Ahiru the next morning when she came. Perhaps she had some more information, and didn't she live in the town with her human friend? After some minutes had past, Sagi had continued her nightly slumber, at peace in the reeds of the lake.

o-o-o-o-o

Meanwhile, Fakir and Rue finished their dance with flourishing strides from the back of the stage to the very front, jumping to the final pose, arms thrust up to the ceiling. They gazed towards each other somberly.

The audience applauded cordially, many standing up in great approval. Quite a few were also wondering why the prince hadn't appeared, but many had already forgotten that matter, astounded by the performance.

Fakir and Rue bowed, receiving the applause generously. They walked stylishly offstage, the viewers still clapping.

When they were behind the curtains once more, a servant went up to them almost right away and asked, "Umm…what happened to the Prince? Why didn't he show up?"

Rue's eyes narrowed. "Why? Why didn't he show up, you ask?" she asked him with severe poise. "Are you saying that we didn't dance well?" Fakir rolled his eyes discreetly.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed a little loudly. "No, of course not, Rue-sama…you danced marvelously…I was just, um…" He faltered a little under Rue's intense gaze. "…um, just wondering where Mytho-sama was…"

"He's not feeling so well. So he wasn't supposed to dance tonight anyway." Rue looked at him again. "Didn't you know that?"

"Umm…yeah, sure!"

Rue paused, and then added, "If anyone else asks about it, tell them that for me."

"Sure! Right away!" He scampered off, glad to be out of the range of who was secretly known in the servant's quarters as Rue the Ruthless.

Fakir took a breath after a moment. "We should probably go and check on Ahiru and the prince's little brother, make sure he hasn't done anything stupid while we were gone."

"You're probably right." She set off back for the waiting room. Fakir walked the same direction.

As they strolled along, Rue remarked, "This is a thin act. I might be able to cover up some of that boy's ballet ineptitude, but I won't be able to hide the fact that he doesn't know anything about dance at all for long."

Fakir sighed, silently agreeing.

They finally got to the door of their destination. Fakir was about to open the door when he heard quite a bit of floor movement, as if someone were stomping or moving their feet about a lot. He turned the door open a creak and peeked inside. His eyes blinked a couple of times in amazement.

"What is it?" Rue inquired uneasily. Fakir wordlessly opened the door a tiny crack more for her to see.

"So, this is the spinning move…what's it called again? Oh, yeah, a pirouette," Trutho responded to a quack from Ahiru. He attempted to do a spin on one foot, but lost his balance and fell over, dizzy. Ahiru waddled over to him, making sure he was okay, and Trutho gave the thumbs up.

"Hmm, let me review the positions again," he said. "Okay, first position is like…this, right?" he asked, putting his heels together and putting his arms round in front of him, clumsily but accurately. After a nod from Ahiru, he split his arms and legs apart, adding, "And this is second position, right? Oh, good…and then, third position…"

Rue's mouth dropped slightly. She blinked a couple of times in disbelief. In moments though she recovered herself gracefully. "Well…I suppose there is _some_ hope for him, then," Rue muttered. "Mind you, that's the bare basics, and Mytho knew well beyond…"

As Rue went on about Mytho's ballet prowess, Fakir was pondering over something else. When Rue, a princess, tried to make him dance with her (even though she was against the idea) he flatly and blatantly refused to have anything to do with it. Plus, he was nearly frightened out of his wits. But if Ahiru, a mere duck, suggested some tips and taught him, unobserved, in a quiet room, he could learn in a short amount of time basic skills of ballet that he had perhaps no idea about at all at first.

For some reason this image intrigued him. He had been missing his muse for some days now, and the stories he had been working on had withered in lack of nourishment. Still, it did not surprise him of one thing: that Ahiru was the one who would refresh his ideas in the end.

Rue grew impatient and finally swung open the door. Trutho started and tumbled back down on top of the bed in surprise. "Oh…you're back!"

"I thought you said you couldn't dance," Rue inquired doggedly.

"Well, I couldn't, especially at the time you asked me," Trutho replied rebelliously. "Besides, I _still_ can't dance…not even close to competently, anyway…" Blinking, he turned to Fakir. "Actually, I still don't know your name…would you mind telling me?"

"I'm Fakir," Fakir replied, "and this duck is Ahiru." Ahiru quacked in emphasis. "And you call yourself Trutho, right? I wasn't entirely sure of your name either…"

"No problem," Trutho replied, "I kinda like it that way. If too many people know your name, it kind of gets…annoying."

"Annoying?" Rue inquired. "How could your name being known be annoying?"

"Then you just feel like you're in the spotlight all the time, right? That's annoying to me."

"I'd rather be in the spotlight, if that's what you're talking about. I don't see anything wrong with being paid attention to."

Fakir sighed. No matter what happened, it seemed impossible for these two to ever see eye-to-eye with each other.

o-o-o-o-o

Drosselmeyer swung on a pendulum, chuckling to himself. "Heheheheh…now the plot is set up! And with such curiosities on hand! The Prince has set off for another town to fight the ravens, the Prince's little brother takes his brother's place alongside the Princess, and even the former Knight and the duck are twisted up in matters!"

He smirked viciously, holding up the large black feather. "And we haven't even come to the matter of the Raven yet…"

All the meanwhile, Uzura tapped her drum with an incessant pling! pling! pling!

"Now, spin out a story! Tell a tale like no tale told before!" Drosselmeyer spread his arms wide to the cluster of character apparatus.

Uzura paused and took out the precious yellow quill. "Don't worry, Ahiru-chan. I'll make sure to keep this safe for you-zura."

o-o-o-o-o

"…_And so, the duck taught the clumsy prince how to dance. A simple little duck, whom no one would think of any use to a prince, being his mentor when all the most distinguished dance instructors failed to be able to teach him. For all those tutors failed to have something the duck had plenty of: patient, unrelenting dedication to teach a willing student."_

Fakir sat back from his chair. The soft, warm light of Ahiru's red lamp lit up the desk. Ahiru was already asleep in the bathtub. He had stayed up a little to finish the story, but he was glad he did. He had been on a roll.

He glanced at the other stories that he had put aside for the time being. The one that he had been working on before his writer's block lay on top. The last part of it read:

_The spirit of the lake told the duck, "You have been so good to me, and so kind to my inhabitants, that I will reward you with the thing you most desire. Tell me: what is it you want the most?" The duck replied…_

That was as far as he was able to go before his writer's block set in. He wasn't really sure what she wanted most. What would a duck want? He did wish Ahiru was human again, at least for a short time, so he could talk to her, and she would be able to talk back. Was that what she sincerely wanted, though? Sure, he doubted that she'd hate it, and sometimes she showed her frustration at her limitation in expression, but…well, it reminded him of writing. People couldn't truly write only feeling that they had a duty to do so. And in the same way, he couldn't just say to himself that he knew Ahiru would love it if he wrote her back to being human again; she'd say she'd be happy, but that wouldn't say much about what she really felt. He never wanted to manipulate others in his writing, only to support them for what they truly wanted to accomplish.

Besides…whenever he came up to her to ask her about it, for some reason he found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't seem to put it right. He'd always end up forfeiting the endeavor and covering it up with something irrelevant.

He yawned and glanced towards the direction of the bathtub. Maybe he was being stupid. After how hard it was to return to how it would've been without the story, the way things were _supposed_ to be, it would seem unfitting to bring such things back. But, the Ahiru he knew during the story was no fairy-tale, no fake personality that disappeared after the story concluded.

Maybe she was never meant to be human. But, would it be a lie or a fleeting fantasy for her to be human again? It couldn't be just a dream for her to be who she had always been, could it?

He put down the quill and turned down the light of the scarlet lamp on his desk. He'd continue writing the next morning, watching Ahiru dip her plumed head into the shallows. It was funny; so much had happened that day, and yet tomorrow Ahiru and he would go down to the lake like usual, yesterday but a memory to marvel at. How the days go by incessantly, stopping for nothing no matter what happens. It was encouraging, in a way.

Fakir pulled aside the covers of his bed and slid in. The moonlight cast a sharp, shadowy light across the room, outlining the windowpanes the rays came through.

He thought it could have been a full moon tonight, but he wasn't quite sure. Perhaps there was still a sliver to be filled in the next night. Or maybe it was past, and the next night would bring one less shard of moonlight. But that didn't really matter. His eyes closed.

Soon he was asleep. He didn't see the moonlight gradually ebb away as a small cloud drifted across the sky.

* * *

_**Next episode preview**_

Fakir and Autor sit on the dock by the lake outside the town.  
"Drosselmeyer," Fakir mutters the name with utter contempt. "Does he have to define the way I live?"  
"He is _your_ direct ancestor, after all."  
Rue knocks on the door next to her bedroom, where Trutho is dashing for the exit to the hall.  
"Trutho, what do you think you're doing?"  
Ahiru and Sagi sit by the lake, and a watery being appears pirouetting in front of them.  
"Have you ever thought about what you most wanted?" the watery being asks. "Because whatever it is, if it's within my power, I'll grant it."  
(Ahiru's voice) "Wish for…? I don't know…what to wish for…"  
A young man with black curly hair and a young woman with long aqua hair curled at the ends sit at opposite ends of a fountain.  
(A deep masculine voice) "Ravens…what do you think of them?"  
"What are _you_ doing here?" Autor and Fakir ask each other curtly in unison in a dorm's doorway.  
Water swirls around the duck and the heron as Fakir and Autor rush towards them.  
(The watery being's voice) "Then, it shall be so."

**Princess Tutu**  
_-Kapitel des Vogel-_  
28. AKT "Resurrection"  
- Mondschein Sonata : Adagio sostenuto -

All children who love stories, come gather round once more! Heheheheheh…

* * *

**Extra notes:**

("sah-gi" heron in Japanese)  
(Ginkan means 'silver crown' – a spin-off of Kinkan 'gold crown')  
("komadori" means "robin" dori/tori means bird and "-ro" is a common Japanese ending for a boy's name)  
("taka" in Takako means "hawk", "-ko" is a common suffix to a girl's name)  
("kamome" means 'seagull')

_**27. AKT Music List  
**_(the time ranges listed show what part of the song is used in the scene, based either on the tracks of the original soundtrack or the source classical music)

**"Avant Title"  
**_Played after the first sentence during the prologue, and stops right before the title.  
_The mysterious music used in each episode's prologue during the series; a foreboding version of "March" from the Nutcracker.

**"Morning Grace (TV vrs.)"  
**_Played at the title screen; imagine opening sequence here._  
(Artist: Ritsuko Okazaki) The opening of Princess Tutu; shortened version played in the show.

**"Ichinichi no Hajimari"  
**(start 23 sec. until 1 min 34 sec.)  
_Played at the start of the story after the title; cut off when Charon asks Ahiru and Fakir if they will greet 'them'.  
_A bright, cheerful, morning-like version of Miniature Overture.

**"Ichinichi no Hajimari"  
**(Clock Tower Bell) (until 22 sec.)  
_Played when the bell tolls right before the parade starts._  
Sound clip of the clock tower bell heard in the series.

**"March"  
**_Played right after the bell rings, and stops when Fakir asks what happened._  
from "The Nutcracker" The famous marching song also used in the PT series.

**"Ahiru's Comical"  
**(until 1 min 2 sec)  
_Played after Trutho puts down his hood and comments on the weather; stops after he asks for some peace and quiet.  
_A funny, quirky version of Miniature Overture.

**"Mazurka Op.6-1 in F# Minor"  
**_Played while Fakir is at the lake, thinking. Stops when the narration says it would soon be time for Ahiru and Fakir to leave.  
_(composed by Chopin) An ambivalent, introspective piano song changing from calm to restless back to calm again. Could be thought of as Fakir's piano theme (another one, probably his main theme is the Overture of 'Coriolan').

**"Dance of the Reedpipes"  
**_Played when Ahiru notices the person behind her; stops after Trutho trips._  
(from "The Nutcracker") A playful, slightly humorous song with flutes as the main instrument used. Could be thought of as Trutho's theme.

**"Humoresque (strings vrs.)"**  
_Played when the narration starts describing Komaro; ends with the end of the scene._  
(composed by Dvorak) A quaint song that has a tranquil, yet droll air. Could be thought of as Komaro's theme.

**"Arabian Dance"  
**_Played when Mytho turns the corner; fades away after the scene with Takako._  
(from "The Nutcracker_")_ A slow, enigmatic song. Could be thought of as Takako's theme.

**"Ahiru, Sentimental"  
**_Played when Trutho stops and looks at Mytho; stops at the end of the scene._  
A sad, emotional version of Miniature Overture.

**"Aquarium"  
**_Played when Fakir starts telling the prologue; stops when Fakir concludes it._  
(from "The Carnival of the Animals") A mysterious, watery-sounding song.

**"Omen"  
**(until 1 min 31 sec)  
_Played after Mytho looks away from the window and looks decided; stops at the end of the scene._  
A grim, foreboding version of Miniature Overture.

**"Drosselmeyer Resurrection"  
**(until 1 min 3 sec)  
_Plays for the scene where the gears start turning again._  
A menacing, apprehensive, yet eccentric, version of "March" from the Nutcracker.

**"The Story's Terminal Station Is…"  
**(Monogatari no Shuuchakueki) (until 56 sec)  
_Played at the start of the scene with Rue and Trutho away from the dining hall; stops when Rue states that they have a pas de deux to perform._  
An ominous, dark song.

**"Waltz"  
**_Played when the lights dim on the stage; the pause in the music comes when the curtain lifts, and it continues through the stage scene and the lake scene (though during the lake scene it is slightly softer) until it stops at the end of the dance.  
_(from "Sleeping Beauty") The well-known theme from said ballet (also used in the Disney movie in a song with a line of "I've walked with you once upon a dream")

**"Drosselmeyer's Shadow"  
**(start 52 sec.)  
_Plays for the scene with Drosselmeyer commenting on the situation._  
A thunderous version of "March" with an organ, horns, and drums.

**"On Wings of Song"  
**_Plays for the whole scene with Fakir writing the story and stops at the end of the scene._  
(composed by Mendelssohn) A piano song with a thoughtful and contented air. Also played at the end of episode 4 "Giselle" in the 1st season.

**"Watashi no Ai wa Chiisai Keredo (TV vrs.)"  
**_Played at the end of the episode; imagine ending sequence here.  
_(Artist: Ritsuko Okazaki) The ending of Princess Tutu; shortened version played in the show.

**"Sonata no.14 in C-sharp minor Op.27 No.2 'Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia' a.k.a. 'Moonlight Sonata' (1st movement)"**  
_Played during the preview._  
(composed by Beethoven) A sustained, quiet song with low notes and many sharps that give the feeling of a dark but tranquil night.


	3. 28 AKT: Resurrection :part a:

_Once upon a time, a man died. He had begun writing a book in which a prince, a raven, and a knight fought. After his death, the story continued on, watched over by the man from a place beyond this world. He tried to end the story the way he wanted to, but a duck he had introduced into the story had turned the whole story around, and it ended happily. The man thought that the story was finished and complete. But, he found that there were still characters in it whose stories had not yet concluded. Thus, the man's story still remained, and he stayed to watch it unfold._

**Princess Tutu**  
~_Kapitel des Vogel_~  
-鳥の章-  
(Chapter of the Bird)

28. AKT "Resurrection"  
~ Mondschein Sonata : Adagio sostenuto ~  
(Moonlight Sonata: 1st mvt.)

Two figures on horseback trotted through a town's lonesome boundary gates. The sky seemed to be perpetually filled with a thick layer of featureless dark-gray clouds, where no sun shone through. The town itself had a mood as heavy as the clouds above it. There were hardly any people out on the road, and those that were out went about their own business, nothing more, carefully avoiding their eyes to anyone else around them.

The young man with the brown mount let his horse amble to a stop and turned towards the cloaked person on the white steed. "Well, this is Ginkan, your Hi – er, my Lord."

The figure in the cloak drew back his hood, revealing his white curls and hazel eyes, which bore telltale shadows of fatigue under them. "Is it always this…gloomy here?"

"Well, this place is a little…traditionalist," Komaro said carefully. "Especially compared to Kinkan. It's true that it has gotten gloomier than from what I remember last time I was here, but otherwise, it's not too much different than the norm." His eyes were drooping slightly, but otherwise he was surprisingly awake, despite having ridden with Mytho for most of the night. He had experienced previous all-nighters that had been more tiring than this trip.

"Hmm…" Mytho blinked drowsily and covered a lengthy yawn before he shook his reigns slightly and started his horse back into a trot.

"Your…my Lord," Komaro muttered, lowering his voice, "it might be best if you kept your hood up. You are not yet out of the open, and we don't know who could be watching…"

Mytho sighed, pulling his hood over his head again. "You need not be that meticulous."

"I'm sorry," Komaro said quickly, his head instinctively dropping down. "It's just that…for some reason, this town is making me feel abnormally anxious…this time more than other times…"

Mytho gazed up at the sky. A crow soared overhead, cawing shrilly before disappearing behind a building. Mytho's eyes narrowed with contempt. "There's a reason, I'm sure."

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir sighed in frustration, slapping the quill pen in his hand down on the parchment. Why couldn't he think of anything to continue that line of that story? He reread the last lines again, for the hundredth time:

The spirit of the lake told the duck, "You have been so good to me, and so kind to my inhabitants, that I will reward you with the thing you most desire. Tell me: what is it you want most?" The duck replied…

"Damn. What _does_ she want?" Fakir muttered aloud. He couldn't understand why this was so hard. He knew what he wanted to write…but at the same time, his instincts kept him from writing any further. And if he was having such a hard time, why was it so hard to just go and ask her?

Well, Ahiru was currently in the far left side of the shallows, so he supposed he'd have to call over to her to ask her, and maybe she was busy, or…

Fakir shook his head furiously. He was _not_ going to use that excuse again. He had to ask her as soon as possible; otherwise, it was going to drive him crazy. It wasn't anything important, after all. He would just tell her he had an idea shortage, and just needed to ask her opinion. He'd just ask, since she was a duck, what she thought a duck would want. It was that simple. Nothing to worry about.

Fakir sighed. He sounded so pathetic.

"Here again?"

Fakir blinked, and turned around in his chair to see a young man of indigo hair gazing down at him through his glasses. "Oh…Autor." Fakir indifferently looked back down at his still-unfinished composition.

"That couldn't be the same story that you were working on before, could it?" Autor glanced incredulously over Fakir's shoulder.

"No, it isn't," Fakir answered tersely. _Damn…how am I going to write with_him _here?_

"Either way, it looks like you're still having a hard time."

Fakir said nothing in reply, but his quill didn't stir from the parchment.

"Oh, don't mind me." Almost seeming to read his thoughts on what would irritate him the most, Autor sat down beside Fakir on the dock of the lake, dangling his legs over the edge. Although Fakir had no idea if he still attended Kinkan Academy of Fine Arts, Autor still wore the characteristic blue-and-white uniform. Not feeling like pretending to write, Fakir almost unconsciously grabbed his fishing rod hanging over the edge and reeled it in, even though no fish had bitten yet that morning.

"Those stories that you've written…none of them have come true, have they?"

"I don't think so," Fakir replied. "…How would I know, anyway?"

"Well…some things that have been happening around town are beginning to sound like some of your stories."

"Such as?"

"Remember that story you were writing before about a girl that recovers from an illness? I heard recently that this one girl miraculously got better from a terminal illness she was born with despite being pronounced a hopeless case by her doctors."

"The person I wrote about was a boy, and he only had a cold, and all he needed was a day of rest in bed." As unexciting as that story sounded, it was only story with any bit of suffering that he wrote. And he hoped to not ever make it any worse than that.

Autor's eyes widened. "So, that means that your stories even exaggerate themselves when they come to life? Perhaps your powers surpass those of Drosselmeyer's, after all!"

Fakir shook his head reproachfully. "I think you're just getting over-sensitive to any possible connections to my stories and reality. Soon you're going to be telling me that a story about a snowy day will cause the blizzard to freeze all of Kinkan to death."

"Well, anyhow, it's not certain that you can keep those stories of yours under control," Autor said. "It's not wise to flaunt your words so frivolously simply for the sake of your own pleasure."

"What else is a writer supposed to do?" Fakir retorted, standing back up out of his chair, glowering at Autor. "Even if what you say is true, the last time I've heard it was a good thing for a girl to recover from a deathly disease."

"What I mean is that you could be putting your abilities to better use," Autor implored. "If you started writing stories about those in high places – especially personal ones charged with emotion! – then, you could have immense influence over what usually goes right over our heads."

Fakir snorted. "And do what? Take over the world? That sounds like something _you_ would do."

There followed a brief silence, interrupted by Autor's reply, "The point is, you have the power to make a difference in the world, and frankly, just about anything in it. Even Drosselmeyer ultimately never took the initiative to gain genuinely influential positions with his powers; you, on the other hand, could easily surpass him."

Fakir scowled. "Drosselmeyer," he muttered the name with utter contempt. "Does he have to define the way I live?"

"He is _your_ direct ancestor, after all."

Fakir winced. "Damn, you had to remind me." He crossed his arms and exhaled briskly. "I don't want to have anything to do with Drosselmeyer. As far as I'm concerned, he's ancient tomb dust."

"Then what you're doing right now is following in his footsteps; just writing your days away, never actually taking the initiative in the world's workings. I'm sure those old anti-Drosselmeyer geezers would be grateful that you had their work cut out for them."

Fakir's fist clenched tight. _Why do I ever let him near me in the first place?_

o-o-o-o-o

Rue's eyes opened. At first she blinked nonchalantly, but after a moment of recalling the previous day's events, her eyes widened with bewilderment and then furrowed with irritation.

She rose out of bed and headed for her wardrobe, reaching for her white feathery dress when she stopped and instead grabbed the folded gray uniform that lay on the table at the foot of her bed.

After a few adjusting tugs here and there, she went to the full-sized mirror at the corner of her room. She gazed at the reflection thoughtfully, and then preened flourishingly. As an afterthought she reached for and placed a golden coronet on her head.

"Mytho! I mean, Trutho! I mean…"

She grimaced. "Mytho! Are you awake yet?"

Behind the door, Trutho mumbled something unintelligible from underneath his bed covers.

"Mytho!"

"Whaaaaaaaa!" Trutho thrashed in his bed, sending his pillow and blankets flying.

"All right, you're awake. Hurry and get dressed, we need to present ourselves to the dance classes soon."

He blinked incomprehensibly, his pillow hitting him on the head with a poof after it had tumbled back down.

After a moment of recollection, Trutho started, and in a panic, impulsively darted his eyes around for a means of escape. After his eyes paused at the window, he remembered that the room was on a higher floor and his eyes flitted and settled on the door to the hallway. He made a dash for it.

In the other room, Rue heard swift footsteps and the sound of a door swinging open. She hurriedly yanked open the room doors. "What? What's going on!?"

She glanced around the room. No one. The door to the hallway outside hit the wall and swung a lethargic rebound.

"Trutho, what do you think you're doing?!" She stepped outside, looking right and left. No sign of anyone; not even a servant.

_How can he run so fast?_ Grumbling with irritation, she made a left and ran down the hall. "_Mytho!_"

Some moments passed. Then, after Rue's footsteps had died away, Trutho emerged from under the bed. He gingerly tiptoed towards the door. He hung on to the doorframe with his hands and carefully leaned his head out the doorway. After making a few surveying glances, he turned right and scampered away down the hall.

o-o-o-o-o

"You know, Ahiru…something peculiar happened last night."

"What happened? Was it…something scary?"

"No, not at all," Sagi replied. "You know about the Prince that arrived recently? I'm not sure if I was seeing things, but I swear last night I saw him riding the other direction, just him and one other person. No entourage, no carriage, nothing formal like that."

Ahiru started for a moment.

"I'm quite sure he was going off in secret," Sagi continued. "What else explains leaving in the middle of the night by himself? It's kind of strange. I wonder what it could be?"

"Er…hmm…" _Well…it wouldn't hurt to tell Sagi about what happened last night, would it?_ "…Actually, Sagi-chan? I do kinda know what it's about."

"Really? What was it?"

"It's kind of a long story…remember when Fakir and I left yesterday evening? We were going to attend a party held for Mytho and Rue-chan. They're the Prince and Princess," Ahiru mentioned, since Sagi looked a little confused.

Ahiru told Sagi what had happened that night before, even about the little dance lesson that she had given Trutho. "Later this morning, we're going to go back there and check on him, make sure he's doing all right," Ahiru added.

"Wow." She paused a moment, wondering what to say. "You seem to have an exciting life, Ahiru," Sagi remarked. "I can't believe all those things happened to you in one day."

"I'm still really amazed about it all myself," Ahiru replied. "I mean, my life was pretty much as normal as yours before yesterday…" _For the last few months, anyway…_

"It's also remarkable that you knew ballet well enough to teach someone," Sagi added. "Where did you learn about dance? Birds don't usually learn that sort of thing…"

"Oh…um…" Ahiru had never told Sagi about her being human at one point. She wasn't sure Sagi would believe her, anyhow. "You know…there's a dance school in the town nearby, right? Well…Fakir used to go there, and I was there…and, I saw some people dancing, and…I guess I picked some things up like that." Ahiru sweatdropped. Hopefully that was a plausible enough answer…

"Oh, I see…" Sagi nodded slowly. "Hmm…a boy that can speak to and understand creatures like us; that is certainly unusual. And a prince's brother, besides…simply amazing."

"Yeah, I suppose it is," Ahiru gazed around the lake. "Boy, it's pretty foggy this morning."

"There was a little seeping in last night, so that makes sense."

Heehee…

Ahiru blinked. "Huh?"

Sagi looked at her with puzzled brown eyes. "What is it?"

"I hear…someone giggling…"

Heeheehee…

Sagi listened. "I hear it, too…"

Suddenly, the water in front of them started to swirl. Ribbons of water circled the air, scattering waterdrops around. A figure of water began to materialize from the depths. A girl pirouetted in the whirlpool, arms held out gleefully above her. Her hair was curly, almost like bubbles, and her waterfall-like dress swished with water droplets flinging around. She twirled to a stop, and giggled with the same voice that they had heard. "Why, good morning, Ahiru-chan, Sagi-chan."

Ahiru quacked sharply, completely astounded. "Wh-who are you?"

The watery being playfully pretended to be upset. "Oh, what? You've been swimming in my lake for months now, and you don't even recognize your lake's spirit? I'm crushed."

Ahiru blinked flusteredly. "You're…the lake spirit? I-I never knew there was a lake spirit here!"

Sagi tilted her head puzzledly. "I don't think either of us has ever seen you before…but somehow, you know us…? Were you hiding? And if you were, then why—"

"So many questions!" the Lake Spirit exclaimed amusedly with a sigh. "I can't answer them all at once. But, as to some of your questions, perhaps you might like to ask your very kind friend Fakir."

Ahiru and Sagi glanced towards where Fakir and Autor sat, deep in discussion (or argument) about something. They still didn't seem to notice anything unusual around them, especially from that distance, and with the fog.

"But…Fakir? Wait…was it a story that he wrote? What do you mean?" Ahiru asked perplexedly.

"It could be," the Lake Spirit replied ambiguously. "Well, after I'm done here you could ask him yourself if you wanted to, anyway…"

Ahiru's head spun in bafflement. "Quaaaaaa…I'm really confused now!"

Sagi sweatdropped anxiously. "Um, Lake Spirit-san? I agree with Ahiru; please tell us what you're getting at…"

The Lake Spirit sighed again. "I was just getting to it, no need to rush. So, Ahiru-chan," She looked lovingly at the little confused duck. "I'm so glad that it's you that I will grant this to…you're such a sweet and adorable little thing, you absolutely deserve such a blessing, and so…"

Still baffled, Ahiru was silent as the Lake Spirit went on.

"Have you ever thought about what you most wanted?" the Lake Spirit asked. "Because whatever it is, if it's within my power, I'll grant it."

Ahiru blinked. "What…I most wanted?"

"Yes. A wish. You can wish for anything you want – provided it's not peace for the world or eternal prosperity for everyone, or anything immense like that, I'm not all-powerful…and besides, I'd rather grant a wish you made for yourself. You've had so little of that."

Ahiru looked up thoughtfully.

"…But, the thing that I think you want to wish for, I can grant it." She grinned enigmatically.

Sagi looked at Ahiru, and Ahiru looked at the Lake Spirit. "Wish for…? I don't know…what to wish for…"

In Ahiru's mind, however, a vision of her human form surfaced from previously untouched depths. _No…I don't think…the Lake Spirit wouldn't be able to do that…_

Sagi studied Ahiru. Ahiru seemed to be more unsure than confused; she looked too troubled for the problem to simply be the inability to think of a wish. Perhaps she was uncertain about the wish she had in mind. "So…you have an idea, perhaps?"

"Eh? Well, I…" Ahiru's head shied away into the shoulders of her wings, but she appeared to be blushing. "…I just sometimes wish some things were like they were before. I mean…um…"

Ahiru took a deep breath. "It's just that it would be nice if I could talk with Fakir again, sometimes…like before…" Ahiru threw aside her wings in a nervous, exaggerated shrug. "But of course that's not possible, right? I guess I'll have to think of something else…"

"Well, let's see…" The Lake Spirit put on an air of thinking. "No, I don't suppose I could give a duck the ability to speak to humans…"

Ahiru's head started to droop down with resigned acquiescence.

"_However_…and I hope you won't mind this alternative," the Lake Spirit grinned, "I _could_ turn you human again."

Ahiru was flabbergasted. _What!? Is this for real? …Human!?_

Sagi was puzzled. _…Again? What is she talking about?_

Relishing in their bewildered faces, she added teasingly, "Oh…is that…not suitable?"

"I-is it possible for you to do something like that?" Ahiru asked shakily.

"Oh, _I_ can't perform such a feat," the Lake Spirit replied, "but this grand lake – you never suspected it? – has great magic hidden within it. In fact, if I remember correctly, it's done the same sort of thing before, except with a human…"

Sagi took a quick glance at Fakir and Autor at the dock, just barely visible through the mist. They had made no significant movements from when she last saw them.

Ahiru sneezed.

o-o-o-o-o

"And why, of all places, do you choose your writing location here, at a lake, with a duck?"

Fakir glared at him coldly. "The lake is _Ahiru's_ home."

"Do you have some kind of fondness for birds? I personally can't stand them…they're so rowdy and shrill…"

Fakir glanced towards Ahiru's direction. _That heron really is tall. She's way more than twice the height of…_ He noticed Sagi standing beside Ahiru. _Wait…then, who's that other…?_

"Are you listening to me, Fakir?" Autor scrutinized Fakir's face, and then turned his head the same direction. "What is that…?"

Fakir's eyes creased with alarmed confusion. "What was that voice?" _Those aren't Ahiru's quacks…_ With mounting alarm, Fakir trotted anxiously around the shoreline to where Ahiru drifted in the distance.

o-o-o-o-o

"I-I'll really be able to become human again?" Ahiru asked almost tearfully.

"Oh, many things are possible with the magic of this lake," the Lake Spirit replied admiringly. "But I most love when it makes creatures like you so happy."

"…"

"Hmm?" The Lake Spirit turned towards Sagi, who had become somewhat quiet. "Sagi-chan, did you want to say something?"

Sagi twitched subtly, as if she hadn't realized that she had revealed any signs of a reaction. "Oh, it's nothing…"

The Lake Spirit floated patiently, silently waiting.

"…I suppose humans don't usually stay around lakes, do they?" Sagi replied vaguely. "Well, I suppose not…"

"You know what?" The Lake Spirit put a hand to her cheek, as if she had just thought of something. "I'm so rude. I haven't even offered _you_ anything, Sagi-chan. Why don't I ask you what you want?"

"I? What it is that I want?" Sagi looked down at the water she was standing in. "I…well, I suppose I was fine with what I had here. It's just that…"

She hesitated. "If Ahiru becomes human, then the lake won't be her home anymore, and she won't be able to come and talk like we have been, will she?"

Ahiru blinked in realization, saddened. "Oh, no! I-I-I'm so sorry, Sagi-chan, I didn't think about what would happen to you if I became human!"

"But," Sagi glanced at Ahiru's dismayed face, "I want Ahiru to be happy. I want Ahiru's wish to come true, too. So…so…"

Sagi looked up at the Lake Spirit. "If it's in your power…if you are able…then, please make me human as well."

"Sagi-chan…"

"Turn both of you into humans?" The Lake Spirit briefly pondered. "Oh, yes, why not…the lake certainly has enough power to transform both of you, and of course both of you deserve to have your wishes granted. And, after all, I think it will be interesting…two water birds as humans…is that all right?" The Lake Spirit's eyes seemed to glaze over, gazing far into the distance.

The lake seemed to stir, its ripples resonating with anticipation.

"Then, it shall be so."

As she murmured those words, water started to swirl around the two birds.

o-o-o-o-o

"Who…or _what_…is that?" Autor asked, trotting behind Fakir.

"Am I supposed to know?" Fakir answered dryly. He squinted through the fog. He thought that the blue figure was a humanoid form, but he couldn't really tell for sure from this distance, and the fog was growing thicker. _Why didn't Ahiru yell or make any noises when that thing appeared?_ _Or maybe she did, and I didn't hear it…_ He winced at that thought.

Then, suddenly, the lake seemed to swallow the duck and the heron from view. Fakir's eyes widened alarmedly.

"What? What's going on!?" Autor's glasses had clouded up considerably from the thick mist, and he lagged behind, fumbling with his shirt, trying as quickly as possible to clear up his lenses.

Fakir was already dashing towards where he last saw Ahiru. _Damn it! I should have never let my eyes off of her…I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her and I wasn't watchful enough to stop it…_ He grimaced with self-contempt.

o-o-o-o-o

As the water swirled, Ahiru's wings grew out, the wingtips growing thinner into fingertips. Her tail disappeared, and her orange legs with webbed toes lengthened and softened into human legs and feet. Her beak shrunk until it became a tiny freckle-spotted nose and soft, pink human lips. Long red plaited hair appeared on her head, turning the little defiant yellow feather into an equally rebellious crimson lock of hair. From the water spray came forth an oval-shaped dewdrop, with tiny droplets of water that surrounded Ahiru's neck and became a beaded necklace, with the transparent, sparkling jewel becoming a magenta-colored pendant.

Ahiru opened her eyes. They had not changed at all; they still were the same wide sapphire-blue eyes she had always worn. She held up her newly formed hands and gazed at them wistfully, touching her cheeks gently. She beamed.

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir was almost at the bank when the swirls of water started to recede. He made a last sprint for the water, hoping it wasn't too late. "Ahiru!"

But, what stopped him stiff was what he saw when the last of the water splashed down into the lake. A familiar red braid he'd never thought he'd see again hung down from the back of a girl's head. She looked over her shoulder in reaction to his shout, revealing the same blue eyes with distinctive long eyelashes, along with the freckles and open mouth that he remembered from long ago. "F-Fakir…?"

"Ahiru…?"

Was it her? _Could_it be her? That hair…that face…that voice…those eyes… They were the same…exactly the same…

And then he realized that she was also stark naked.

"…!" In a flash, Fakir whipped his face, now glowing bright red, away from the lake.

Ahiru glanced at herself, and with a similar exclamation, she quickly ducked as low as she could into the shallow water, blushing as red as Fakir.

"Ahiru?"

Ahiru creaked her head upwards to the voice addressing her, moving as minimally as possible. Ahiru's eyes widened. "Sagi-chan?"

Sagi, looking down at Ahiru from quite a height, had been tall as a great blue heron and was now even taller as a human. She was probably even taller than Fakir. Her hair, which fell down to her upper back and curled up at the ends, was aqua blue, the hue of her feathers when she was a heron. What remained the same was the little white swiggle-curl that crowned her plumed head when she was a bird and nestled amongst her other bangs as a young woman. Her brown eyes with eyelashes (which were not as long as Ahiru's, but still significantly long) were also unchanged. She, like Ahiru, wore a round pendant, and the gem was blue with the shape of a perfect circle, instead of the red oval Ahiru had.

"Ahiru, what's wrong?"

"Erm…Sagi-chan, you know, neither of us has any feathers right now…"

"What?" She glanced down at herself, also examining her arms, which were now devoid of wing feathers. "Oh…" She swiftly knelt down into the water, brushing her tresses around her to hide her top half, which didn't get covered by the water as much as Ahiru's because of Sagi's height.

"Fakir! Goddamn it, tell me what you saw—" Autor, just arriving at the scene, noticed the two unclothed girls kneeling in the water. Abruptly, his nose spurted out profuse amounts of bright red fluid. He turned away hastily and felt for a handkerchief in his coat, and upon finding it, promptly shoved it up his right nostril. "Ahhhgg! By dose iz bleading!" Autor exclaimed nasally.

"Oh, dear," the Lake Spirit said, putting her hands over her mouth, "It appears that I forgot about the matter of clothing. Silly me!" She tapped herself on the head feigning inanity, giggling.

Autor risked taking out his handkerchief for a moment in order to speak intelligibly. "Forgot…? You mean…you mean you just _forgot_ to give them clothing? And now you…find that amusing?" Autor grimaced bitterly. "I cannot believe that we have a sadist for a lake spirit."

The Lake Spirit tittered mischievously in reply.

o-o-o-o-o

"I almost can't believe that we were able to get a room at this inn without a reservation," Mytho commented as he and Komaro walked down the candlelit hallway. "This is quite an elegant place. I thought the rooms would all be filled…"

"I suppose we were lucky," Komaro replied. "Although, most people here couldn't…" He trailed off.

"What, Komaro?"

He shook his head. "Just a thought."

After some moment, they reached their room. While Mytho stretched, Komaro gathered all of their bags, picked out his pack and began sifting through it.

"How did you come up with the name 'Lord White'?" Mytho asked as Komaro was going through his sack.

"Well, after I knew you'd need to go incognito, I was thinking about what might be a suitable alias that our foes would not recognize. While we were traveling, I thought about your royal insignia, a swan, and I thought if I used the color of its feathers…" He glanced over at Mytho nervously. "You don't think it's too obvious, do you? I keep thinking anyone would figure it out if they thought about it, but I couldn't think of any other ones, so…"

"No, it's fine," Mytho assured him. "I couldn't figure it out, either, not until you told me." He squinted at Komaro, who was taking out a bunch of clothing. "What are you looking for? What is that?"

"Your disguise, my Lord," Komaro answered, holding up a respectable lord's outfit, with a white blouse and a navy-blue coat and pants. "I didn't think it would be good to put it on while we were in Kinkan, in case we were caught, but if someone recognizes you here it's only a night's ride from Ginkan to Kinkan. I also found a wig that would work well," he added, holding up a brown wig.

"A wig?" Mytho asked incredulously.

"Your pale hair is very uncommon, your - my Lord, and anyone looking for you would recognize you a mile away," Komaro explained. "It was already risky going into town like that as you were, but it couldn't be helped, we would've been seen if you were to change nearby."

Mytho sighed. "You think of everything, as usual."

As Komaro was squaring that away, Mytho spotted on a small table by a small lamp was a strange little metal contraption that Mytho did not recognize. The object, which was connected by a wire to the wall, had a funnel suspended on a steel pronged, black stand, along with a metal plate on the base with holes cut out along the rim to reveal the wheel of numbers it encased. "Komaro…on the table, there…what is that?"

"What, what?" Komaro straightened and glanced towards Mytho's gaze. "Oh, that…that is called a telephone. It's a recent invention that allows one to vocally contact someone from afar. It requires some special set-up before one can be used in a building, though..."

Mytho pondered this. "Wait…does that mean that it would be possible for me to talk to someone in Kinkan from here?"

"Quite easily, Myth…White-sama," Komaro answered. "You would need a sequence of numbers that tells the telephone who you would want to contact, and then the other person would need yours to contact you, consequently."

"This is perfect," Mytho uttered, holding back excitement. "If I could use this to contact Rue and the others, then sending messages would take no time at all!" Before Komaro could reply, Mytho voiced what he already thought Komaro would say. "I know; we don't have Kinkan set up for these telephones yet. If you would kindly do so, order these devices to be organized as soon as possible."

"Actually, um…" Komaro slouched abashedly. "I know I didn't inform you of it at the time, but they're already being set up."

Mytho looked at him, blinking.

"I'm sorry about that, your Maje-my Lord," he corrected himself with difficulty. "I was extremely busy that day, and when it came up, I…thought it would be quite useful, and I didn't have time to consult you, since that was during the time you were away from Kinkan, so I approved it on my own."

Mytho gazed at him with mild surprise. "Wow, I…didn't expect that from you." He nodded. "It comes at an excellent time."

Komaro's eyes glanced back up with slight relief.

"If you would be so kind, prepare a letter to be sent to Kinkan about the matter of the telephone sequences as soon as you can."

Nodding dutifully, Komaro replied, "I'll do that now, sir!" before going for the telephone to jot down its number to send over.

Mytho curiously glanced sidelong at Komaro, and pointedly did not mention anything about Komaro's address change. _Maybe after this he won't be so obsessed about formality like he always is…_

o-o-o-o-o

"Wait…you're saying that duh duck was actually human before, and attended duh Kinkan academy, and den she was durned back indoo a duck, and now she's durned back indoo a human again?" Autor still sounded nasal, since his handkerchief was still hanging out of his nostril, but at least his speech was mostly intelligible.

"Yes, basically…" Fakir, gathering the rest of his belongings, wasn't much for words at this point, as he still seemed a little dazed.

Autor was bewilderedly incredulous. "…An' sombhow I neber figyad dis out befoe…"

After Fakir had collected his fishing rod and parchment, in an awkward stupor of disbelief, Ahiru, Sagi, Autor and he headed back towards Kinkan.

As he walked, Fakir found himself gazing at the newly human-form Ahiru, still adjusting her yellow duck-themed outfit, which had resulted from the Lake Spirit's eventual pang of mercy. He was still partially in bewildered denial; how could Ahiru be human? She was a duck, and the only reason she had been a human was because of the story…

_And even if she were supposed to be human, wouldn't her finally becoming human again have been a more…_ He struggled for a word. _…dignified event?_

His brow furrowed bemusedly. _Then again, Ahiru was never the one for dignity, anyway…_

Ahiru realized Fakir was staring at her. "Fakir? What is it?"

Fakir started slightly. "Oh…nothing."

After a while of walking, Autor finally pulled his handkerchief out of his nose. "Oh, good, it looks like it stopped bleeding…"

He turned to Fakir, Ahiru and Sagi. "I should be going back to the school now. Not sure when or where I'll see you next, but…see you later." With that brief farewell, he turned right and headed down the road towards the academy.

"Um, Fakir—" Ahiru was about to say after Autor had left. Impulsively she stopped talking and was about to mime her words, and then a moment later stopped again. "…Oh, wait, I _can_ talk now…"

Fakir shook his head wryly. "What did you want to say, then?"

"Ah! That was just, umm…" She scratched her head for a moment. "Oh yeah! I remembered! I just wanted to say that I…liked that new quill you got that other day! And that other time, the day before that rainstorm, I-I wanted to tell you that you were on your last inkbottle! Well, you found out the next day, anyway, but…" She shook her head doggedly and plodded on. "And recently, when you…"

Fakir continued silently while Ahiru babbled on. Ahiru was so concentrated on her confessions that, even if he hadn't been listening, she wouldn't have noticed.

"…And, ummm…Fa-Fakir?" Ahiru stuttered. "I know you'll be really upset when I tell you this, but…but…"

She switched her mind into hurricane defense mode. "…Your favorite quill is actually stuck between the space of your desk and the wall. I tried to get it, but even as a duck I couldn't fit in there…" Ahiru braced herself. "See…I-I was the one who knocked it in there."

Fakir's footsteps stopped.

In a flurry of muddled words, Ahiru tried to proclaim her innocence. "It-it was an accident! I didn't mean to – I was just flying around, and…"

Fakir turned and stared directly into Ahiru's eyes with a scowl of disapproval. "Does this mean that all this time you were letting such meaningless things worry you so much that now you think they're actually important?"

Ahiru froze rigid under his glare. "…Erm…"

Fakir's gaze lingered on Ahiru for several more moments. Then, finally he looked away and silently continued walking. Ahiru, slightly put off, sighed like a deflating balloon and toddled on.

After Ahiru had been sure Fakir had already forgotten the matter, he added, "…If it is bothering you that much, then help me get the quill out from under my desk when we get back and we'll call it even."

Ahiru pursed her lips nervously but nodded.

"…I'm glad that you liked the new quill." His pacing quickened to a brisk march.

Ahiru blinked at him quizzically.

Sagi hefted her arms clumsily, breaking the silence. "You know, walking isn't much trouble, since I've waded all the time to catch fish in the lake…but, these arms are what concern me." She held up a hand and flexed her fingers erratically. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to these hands…they're so much more complicated than wings…"

Ahiru sweatdropped and grinned nervously. "Well, um…don't worry. Hands do come in handy sometimes, after all. You get used to it."

Sagi studied Ahiru pensively. "At least you seem quite used to it."

Fakir, after a pause, finally spoke again. "So…Ahiru."

"Hm?" Ahiru looked up at Fakir.

Fakir was silent for a few moments, and then asked, "That lake spirit person…what did she say to you?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it…" Ahiru placed a hand on her chin, pondering. "She said something about her finally being able to appear even though she watched us for a long time. And then she said something about you knowing something of what was going on…"

For a moment, Fakir said nothing. Then he stopped, took out a few of his written pages of parchment, and handed them to Ahiru.

They were all silent as Ahiru read quietly.

"So, um…" Fakir mumbled after Ahiru had looked up from the story. "Now that you're how you want to be…what do you want to do?"

"Huh? What do I want to do?" Ahiru pursed her lips in thought. "Hmmm…umm…"

After some minutes of Ahiru's face scrunching up in numerous angles, her face straightened and she suddenly answered, "You know, Fakir? What I really want to do – what I guess I always wanted to do, really – was to dance. Fakir, I want to go back to learning dance at Kinkan Academy."

Fakir blinked, and his eyes widened subtly. "You do? You want to go back there?"

"Yep. I do," Ahiru affirmed. "Even when I was distracted with trying to get back all of Mytho's heart shards, I always practiced every day – or at least, I tried to – and I learned a lot from Neko-sensei and the exercises. I hoped that maybe one day, I'd be as good a dancer as Rue-chan!" Ahiru shrugged abashedly. "Even if I couldn't get that far, I loved trying. Ever since I returned to being a duck, I – well, a duck can't really go to practices can they – couldn't learn like I used to. Sure, I could dance by the lake sometimes, but…it's not the same. I'm not getting better. I might even be losing what little skills I got."

She looked back at Fakir and grinned. "I have to salvage what dancing technique I have left before it goes to the frogs!"

Fakir pondered. "Isn't it 'dogs'?"

Ahiru's fisted bunched up and she glared at him. "You know what I mean!"

Sagi chuckled and Fakir allowed himself a grin. After a moment, he turned back to the road in front of him. "I haven't been going there recently, to Kinkan Academy. But, maybe I'll start again, since you're going."

Ahiru glanced at him. She smiled.

"Besides, we should lend a hand in looking after Trutho, too. If we're there full-time, it'll be easier."

"Right." Ahiru nodded.

"This Kinkan Academy," Sagi said after several moments' silence, "where is it? Is it purely a dance school, or does it teach other subjects as well?"

"Oh, that's right, you've never been there!" Ahiru exclaimed. "It's a fine arts school, so it does teach dance, but it also has painting, sculpture, drama, music…all kinds of things!"

"Does one have to have experience in the subject, or can anyone enroll?"

"No, no, novices can join as well as professionals – I was still a beginner in my first year, after all," Ahiru said with a nervous laugh. "Say, Sagi-chan, do you want to enroll in dancing, too? It'll be really fun if we're in the same class!"

"I suppose I could," Sagi replied, "but I don't know if I'd be any good at it. I don't know anything about dancing."

"That's fine! You don't know unless you try!" Ahiru tugged on Sagi's arm. "Let's go together. I really want you to come."

Sagi looked at Ahiru, and then grinned gently. "All right…I don't see why not. I'll give dancing a try."

Ahiru beamed.

o-o-o-o-o

After they stopped by Fakir's house, finding a bewildered Karon at home at seeing Fakir minus a duck and plus two girls, they stepped back outside, ready for the academy.

Sagi glanced up at the buildings surrounding them. "Ahiru, do you know what those wooden poles with black ropes hanging off them are?"

Ahiru scrutinized them. "I saw them being put up a couple weeks ago, but…" She scratched her neck sheepishly. "…I have absolutely no idea what they're for!"

Fakir thought a moment. "I heard recently from Karon that they're part of some project that uses the latest technology that'll enable people to talk over long distances. All of the ropes must have something to do with it."

Sagi pondered. "Come to think of it, at one point, when I had first flown here, I thought I saw a long line of those tall, thick wooden posts running along all the way to the next town, it seemed like…"

"…What's that?" Ahiru pointed at a cart driving across the road they were crossing. As it passed by, the three noticed a giant red cage with walls of glassed windows on the back of the cart.

Fakir, Ahiru and Sagi watched the truck pass by with varying degrees of puzzlement on their faces.

o-o-o-o-o

"Wh-wha…what's going on!?"

All around campus, there were dense clumps of people clamoring around certain areas of campus. They were all excited and impatient, and some Kinkan Academy castle servants were trying to keep things in relative order.

"What on earth is happening?" Sagi asked in redundant confusion.

"I don't have a clue!" Ahiru exclaimed. "It was never like this before…"

"Just ignore them for now," Fakir replied. "Let's get to the enrollment office."

They went to the main building in front of the bridge and searched for the attendance department room.

Ahiru glanced around. "This must be where people enroll. There's a reception desk…" _For some reason, I can't seem to remember the first time I enrolled in Kinkan…it's strange, but then again I can hardly remember what happened before that, anyway!_

They went up to it. Ahiru glanced around the desk. There didn't seem to be anyone there.

Then, she glanced over the columns of paper blocking the inside and found a young woman with her arms folded under her head snoozing soundly on top of another pile of parchment. Her straight, shoulder-length yellow hair wound around the papers still on her desk. The girl, also sporting a Kinkan school uniform, still clutched a bedraggled, worn-out quill in her left hand.

"…Umm, excuse me?" Ahiru whispered. She glanced at the desk and noticed a name plaque. "Erm…Isabelle-san…we'd like to…register…"

She was still asleep.

Ahiru's arm crept gingerly over the piles, and she gently prodded Isabelle on the shoulder.

"H…huh?" Her light blue eyes blinked groggily. Suddenly comprehending, her eyes widened, and she sat up in attention, immediately professional, as if she had always been awake. "Ah, yes…um. How may I help you?"

"R-registration?" Ahiru repeated hesitantly.

"Ah, I see…" Isabelle turned and grabbed a stack of papers from the side and flipped through them readily, navigating through the seeming labyrinth of documents with apparent ease. "Are all of you new?"

"I'm returning." Fakir stepped forward.

"Returning? Oh, so you must be one of some of those who've gone on unofficial inspiration-retrieving leave. Let me get that pile." She reached and grabbed a stack of an also sizable mount of parchment.

"Unofficial inspiration-retrieving leave?" Sagi asked.

"Well, this is an art school, is it not?" she replied with a shrewd smile. "It happens all the time; someone loses their muse, they go off for a while, sometimes for months, and then come back and toil like the dickens at their work once again."

"Ermm…actually, I've been here before, too," Ahiru added.

"Have you, now?" she asked not unkindly. "Let's see, then…name?"

"Ahiru."

"Ahiru. Ahiru," She thumbed through a few papers on the top of the stack she was holding. "Funny, wasn't there…a file here…?" She scratched her head. "No, I don't remember any…but then, there's supposed to be…"

Finally, she turned back to Ahiru. "It's strange…it almost feels like there's a file missing, but I don't think it was misplaced or anything…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but without a previous record, I can't really enter you in as a returning student…"

Ahiru sighed. "Oh well. It's not like I'll have lost very much ground, anyway…" _I still had been wobbling between the elementary and apprentice class before, after all._

"If I find it, I'll be sure to inform you and correct your placement accordingly," she replied earnestly.

Ahiru told Isabelle the rest of her information, and after that was finished, Isabelle reentered Fakir from dormant enrollment.

"Are you returning, too?" Isabelle asked Sagi after Ahiru was done.

She shook her head. "No, I'm completely new here."

"All right, let me get another form."

As she filed papers around, she remarked, "Have you heard of the new housing arrangement in the dorms? So many more people have signed up since the Prince and Princess returned that rooms are now shared, instead of individual rooms like it was before."

"What!?" Ahiru started a little. _I used to only have my own room. If I roomed with someone else, and they found out that I'm a duck…!_"Oh n-no, I can't…"

"Do you think that Ahiru and I could share a room?" Sagi asked promptly.

"Hmm? Oh, that's no problem," Isabelle replied. "It works out, there was this one empty room that I wanted to fill…"

Ahiru mouthed a thank you to Sagi. Sagi responded with a shrug and a vague smile as she completed the forms.

After a moment of shuffling papers, she handed each of them dorm room numbers. "You should probably take a look and make yourselves at home there before bothering to come to class. Everyone's still buzzing about their Majesties coming back. Plus, with the new telephone lines being turned on, no one's attending class, not today."

"T-telephone…?" Ahiru asked uncertainly.

"You know, those wires you saw hanging from those poles put up recently. They're bringing in the telephone booths as we speak, so anyone in town can go in one and try it out."

Fakir, Ahiru and Sagi glanced at each other, remembering the strange red boxes in the carts earlier.

"As for you two," she indicated the two girls, "You can find your school uniforms at the ladies' dorm common room. It'll be with a big pile where all the boxes are. The big pile being a product of all the recent enrollments," she remarked to herself. "I think the only reason this office isn't crowded with students right now is those new-fangled devices sitting around campus."

"Ahiru, do you know where the dorm rooms are?" Sagi asked after a few moments' pause.

"Oh, they're a couple blocks away. Here, I'll show you!" Ahiru took Sagi's hand and led her back outside.

Fakir glanced at his room number. "It's different than before…"

"Sorry, it couldn't be helped," Isabelle replied, turning back to her papers. "You were gone for a while, and since you were roomed by yourself, the empty room got filled up before you came back."

Fakir turned back towards her. "I was roomed by myself?"

Isabelle furrowed her eyebrows quizzically. "…Weren't you?"

After a pause, Fakir turned and left the office, loosely following Ahiru and Sagi to the dorms.

o-o-o-o-o

After they reached the dorm vicinity, Sagi went with Ahiru to the ladies' building on the left and Fakir headed for the men's building on the right. He managed to struggle through the line of people on the first floor of his dorm, assuring people that he wasn't cutting for whatever reason; he just had to get to his room somehow. Luckily, the room was somewhere way off on one side of the building, so he wouldn't need to wrestle through people to get through to his door, at least.

_This room is in a completely different location than the one I was in before. Let's see…which one is it?_

After crossing several halls and climbing a few staircases, Fakir finally came upon a door that he thought to be the one matching the room indicated on the slip of paper. He reached for the doorknob, twisted it and pushed it open.

Blinking on the other side was Autor. Fakir stared back.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Autor and Fakir asked each other curtly in unison.

"Did you want something?" Autor asked Fakir stiffly.

"This is supposed to be _my_ dorm room," Fakir grumbled incredulously.

"Let me see that," Autor snatched the slip of paper from Fakir's hand and read it over.

An uncomfortable silence pervaded the room.

"They must have it wrong," Autor declared.

"That must be it," Fakir agreed. He snatched the slip of paper back out of Autor's hand and promptly exited the room. "I won't be back," he added before closing the door with a resounding slam.

After several minutes had passed, Fakir opened the door to the room again, still clutching the now-ragged slip of paper. Autor looked back at him from his desk blankly.

Wordlessly Fakir swept in a silent fury into the room. He slapped the paper on top of the room's previously unoccupied bed, and then stormed back out.

Autor winced in dread.

o-o-o-o-o

"How lucky was it that I was able to get my old room back, the one at the end of the hall!" Ahiru exclaimed. "That might've been because of the fact, but…"

"I suppose they must have added another bed to that room so it could fit two in a room, like they had planned," Sagi commented.

"And I heard that they're going to put a telephone in each dorm room!" Ahiru exclaimed. "It certainly would cut back on all of these lines and crowds everywhere. And, guess what? The men's dorm is supposed to have the individual room ones all set up by this evening! Fakir's lucky…"

After they managed to fan back through the crowd of people in the hallways, the two girls reached the entrance to the ladies' dorm room and exited out to the fountain in the middle.

"Do you see Fakir anywhere?" Ahiru asked, looking around.

"Ah, there he is," Sagi replied, pointing momentarily.

Fakir approached to the dorm fountain in a huff. After he reached them, he took a couple of deep breaths.

"What's wrong, Fakir? Did something happen?" Ahiru asked him with puzzled concern.

"Nothing," he replied gruffly. "I'm _fine_."

Sagi and Ahiru looked at each other but said nothing.

As they headed for the gate leading out into the street adjacent to the academy, they heard a rustle in the bushes. A white-haired head abruptly appeared out of them.

"Qua–!" Ahiru, out of habit, narrowly managed to hold in her duck-like exclamation before it was complete.

"Ah, Fakir! Quick, behind here—" Trutho disappeared back into the bushes again.

Bewildered, they followed him behind the shrubs.

"Trutho, what in the world are you doing here?" Ahiru asked with bafflement. "Aren't you supposed to be back at the school, with Rue-chan?"

Trutho blinked confusedly. "Huh? How do you know my name?"

Fakir sighed grimly and quickly responded, "These two people found out about the secret recently. They won't tell anyone."

"Oh…well, I guess…" After a pause, he shook off most of his uncertainty and he proceeded. "Anyway, I don't know what to do! Rue-san's going to try and make me dance again! I thought she knew I couldn't dance! Yesterday was just a fluke! It was only because that duck –"

"She _does_ know that," Fakir replied with irritation. "Do you think she's dumb? She probably was planning to fabricate another excuse so that she could dance alone instead, if it was even necessary. I'm pretty sure you just need to be there for people to be convinced, of which you aren't…"

"Hey, what's going on?" Someone from the walkway outside the bushes had noticed a trio's sudden trip past the bushes.

"Ack! Gotta go!" Trutho scurried along the row of bushes away from them.

"Is something the matter?" A brunette with an incredibly long nose and a small, puckered mouth peaked over the bushes.

"No, nothing…I just realized I dropped something in the grass," Fakir replied arbitrarily.

"Oh…"

"Arukuimi, what are you looking at?" a short, beady-eyed pigtailed girl asked the long-nosed brunette in question.

"Nothing, Waniko. Someone was looking for something all of a sudden." The brunette fell back and continued on her way.

Ahiru blinked in astonishment. "Th-that was Arukuimi!? And Waniko?"

"The story's over, remember?" Fakir told her. "That was the reason that all of those people became animals in the first place. They're back to normal, now."

"Is there something different about them?" Sagi asked with puzzlement.

"The last time I saw Arukuimi, she was, well, an anteater," Ahiru said awkwardly. "And Waniko – you know…"

"Ah…"

"Where did Trutho go?" Fakir asked in realization.

They glanced around, and sure enough, Trutho had already disappeared from sight.

Fakir grimaced. "I can only hope he's headed back for the academy…"

o-o-o-o-o

Rue stopped in her tracks and sighed sharply. "That's it. I've had enough. No more wild goose chases for some silly boy who can't get his act together."

She continued coolly down the hallways, gazing around the school. _At least he chose the right day to be truant, with all of this distraction. I hardly see the need for even me to go around to classes._

"Oh, your Highness?" A golden-haired female servant came up to her.

"Hm?"

"I received notice about the new telephones that are being installed here," she told Rue. "I think they said you ordered a few personal ones in your quarters…?"

Rue looked at her. "I never heard about this."

"Apparently they were calibrated already, and I think they're going to set them up right now…"

Rue was about to object, but curiosity overcame her. "What are these telephones again?"

"They're machines that can be used to contact someone far away," the servant girl explained. "The reason why everyone's hyped up about them is that they're basically instantaneous; speak into them and the other person will hear your voice right away. And they can respond right back."

This caught Rue's attention. "Anywhere, you say?"

The servant girl nodded. "Yes. Well, anywhere that has it set up, that is…"

"Is Ginkan set up for these?" Rue asked almost urgently.

"I believe so. Most places that can afford it, anyway…"

Rue paused. "How quickly will these telephones be ready?"

"Quite soon, I imagine…oh, that's right," the girl realized suddenly, "Komaro-san just left recently for Ginkan! Is that why you're asking?"

"What? Oh, yes, yes, of course," Rue said dismissively. "How can I call him?"

"You'll need a number to enter into the machine in order for it to reach him. He left a message saying which inn he was planning to stay at, but there's no way to find out what the number would be from just that…"

"Ask him what the number is. Have a letter prepared about the matter and send it to him immediately."

"Right away, your Highness," the girl bowed. "Umm…I suppose that means I should include our number to be sent to him as well, right? You know, so he can call you…"

"Of course. Go now."

"Yes, milady."

o-o-o-o-o

Ahiru walked alone through the hallways of the classrooms of Kinkan she had long ago passed through daily, and would now begin doing so again. Fakir had claimed he had something to straighten out about his room, and he refused to talk about what it was for some reason. Then, Ahiru had proposed that Sagi take a tour around, and Sagi opted to go around by herself for a while. So here she was, wandering around the school, gazing around and remembering.

She stepped outside the door at the end of the hallway to the arched outdoor corridor that led to the dance building. Taking a moment to glance around the campus, Ahiru noticed that most of the students were gathered about the distinctive red phone booths interspersed at convenient but out-of-the-way places around the school. Around other locations in the campus where no telephone booths stood, there were hardly any people except for some unobtrusive servants here and there walking about.

Ahiru turned back towards her destination and continued walking. There was one other person crossing the corridor in the opposite direction, a black-haired young man sporting the same blue uniform all male students normally wore at the school. It was strange; his curly hair, pale skin and crimson eyes reminded her of Rue. Maybe he was Rue's brother?

She mentally bonked herself on the head. After learning about Trutho, things like that seemed readily possible.

As Ahiru walked down the hall, for some unexplainable reason she was almost expecting the boy to do something. Stop and talk, maybe. Or even break a grimace and start hollering at her. Still, though, the boy just kept walking, barely glancing at her. _I wonder who he is, anyway?_

Their paths crossed. Suddenly, Ahiru sensed an intense gaze directed at her. Her footsteps slowed to a disconcerted pause. She gazed tentatively behind her at the person with raven-black hair. He hadn't even broken stride.

Ahiru's face scrunched in puzzlement. _Now I _really_wonder who he is…_

"Ah!" Remembering herself, she dashed to the double doors of the dance building.

o-o-o-o-o

"Sorry for being late!" Ahiru exclaimed with a habitual bob of her head as she dashed into the upper story dance floor.

"If you're late, then so is just about everyone in the school," a woman with short, gray-brown hair clad in a lavender skirt replied exasperatedly. "Those _telephone_ machines…why is everyone so worked up about them, anyway?"

Ahiru glanced up puzzledly. "Eh? Isn't Neko-sensei…?"

"Hmm? Who are you talking about?" the woman asked. "I've been the only full-time dance teacher since that expert left some months ago…I forget his name…"

_I suppose Neko-sensei was really a cat, after all__._Ahiru glanced at the woman. "Do I…know you from somewhere?"

The woman blinked. "I am Yagiko-sensei."

Ahiru started. The last time she had seen Yagiko-sensei, she definitely hadn't been human. "Wh-what!? You're…?"

"What? Do you recognize me somehow?" Yagiko-sensei asked, nonplussed. "I don't remember ever seeing you around school before…"

"Ehhh…um, I saw you sometimes, around town," Ahiru explained clumsily.

"Anyway, since you're here, go ahead and stretch out. The special class is here, at least, so you can watch them practice if you wish."

Ahiru glanced over at the girls on the other side of the room. There were four dancers in dark blue skirts stretching and practicing on the barre and the dance floor. They were the same four people in the advanced class that Ahiru had remembered from way back, minus the centerpiece dancer Rue.

Ahiru noticed that there was piano music playing, and she looked over at the piano to find a tuxedo-clad slender old man with spiffy shades, yet there was a quiet and gentle demeanor about him. He glanced up and smiled at Ahiru, and a grin spread on Ahiru's face in return. _That must be Penguin-sensei…_ she thought, waving back to him.

"Ahiru?"

Ahiru's head turned in answer. "Yes? Oh, Sagi-chan! …You're here already?"

She nodded. "I tried to take a look around, but all of the crowds got in the way, so I thought I might as well come directly here."

While Ahiru wore a slightly different leotard from the other students, Sagi's was the same light-blue outfit as the others, except a translucent, ocean-blue chiffon skirt was tied over her right side. Her long, aqua-colored hair was swept up in a fishnet bun on the back of her head.

Sagi turned her head towards the special group dancers and continued to copy their stretching routines tentatively. Ahiru sat down and did the same. Spreading her legs and reaching for her left foot, she noticed three girls on the other barre across from her.

"Just think, Teresa," a girl with straight shiny black hair wrapped in two buns on the sides of her head. "If we stay here and wait out the hubbub, later we can have the telephones all to ourselves."

"But, a crowd has more leverage than a couple of people, Lin," replied the girl called Teresa, a brunette with her curly shoulder-length hair tied up in a ponytail. "Even the teacher's given up trying to start class with no one in it. There's power in numbers, you know."

"Are you saying we should brave that?" Lin countered, pointing towards Ahiru.

Ahiru impulsively looked behind her, and cluster of students in the school courtyard were still visible from the window even from that standpoint. A raven flying by flashed across the view for a moment.

"Maybe not. Still…"

Glancing outside, Yagiko-sensei apparently had had enough. "That's it. If they're not going to attend class, then they aren't going to be here. I'm kicking all of these loiterers out, out, out!" She stormed outside.

"Hey, what's Myra doing way over there? Myra!" Lin called out to the girl separated from the two by a good few yards. "You were the one who didn't want to go into that big crowd of people, that's why we're here right now! Right?"

The addressed dark-haired girl made no reply. She remained sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped defensively around her knees, her back towards them.

"Myra?" Teresa inquired, taking a step. "Are you all right?"

Lin walked over to Myra and knelt by her. "You know…" she took a breath, "You have been acting kind of…strange lately. There isn't anything bothering you, is there…?"

Myra stiffened restrainedly.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Teresa said gently, walking towards them. "But if it's anything we can help with…"

"Stop bothering me!" Myra stood up suddenly in exclamation, making a couple people in the room turn their heads. "Don't talk to me anymore. I don't want to see anyone. I don't want to be with anyone anymore. Just…leave me alone!" She marched toward the doors.

"Ahiru…? Your pendant…" Sagi pointed at Ahiru's chest with puzzlement. Ahiru looked down. The oval-shaped brooch had gone dark, as if a shadow had passed through it.

"Sagi-chan, yours too…" Sagi's circular pendant had the same dark tinge.

The door slammed shut. Other people in the room looked at each other confusedly.

Sagi blinked. "Oh, they're…back to normal now…" Ahiru glanced at their two pendants, and they had returned to their original respective blue and magenta.

"It's just been getting worse and worse," Teresa said worriedly.

"She never was like this before," Lin said anxiously. "I haven't any clue what's making her this upset."

"I think it's going to get really bad if we just let it be. Lin, we've got to go look for her."

"Definitely."

Teresa and Lin promptly left the dance room out the double doors.

Ahiru gazed through the doors after them pensively.

o-o-o-o-o

With a loud click, the image of Ahiru became suspended in the air, framed by a gear's toothed edges.

"Yes, yes! This couldn't be going more smoothly! Everything's being built up very nicely. And much of it was ultimately thanks to that young descendent of mine…"

He twirled the white quill that had been sitting idle in his hands as he had watched the scene. "So far, Pauper, you've been giving a nice dose of nuisance to the Princess…some comic relief amidst this tale. The readers will probably need it…"

The black quill lay on his desk nearby. Uzura, standing beside the table, considered snatching it away when Drosselmeyer picked it up and examined it admiringly.

"You're certainly a product of one of my better days as a living writer," Drosselmeyer remarked. "Dark, mysterious, cruel, despised – the perfect villain. So perfect I used you for several books, including my last as living…and current as not."

He smirked. "And things are just about to get exciting…"

Uzura's head tilted like a puzzled quail. "But Ahiru's human now-zura. Wouldn't the story be over after that-zura?"

Drosselmeyer looked at Uzura incredulously. "Whoever said that Ahiru becoming human was the only thing left to happen? I didn't facilitate that. I can't write her story, after all, since _you _still have her quill, by the way. That event happened without me doing anything. But it comes in handy, since it will make what happens next even more interesting.

"Still…" He looked at Uzura. "Are you sure you don't want to let me borrow it for a moment?"

Uzura shook her head. "Never-zura."

Drosselmeyer shrugged and shook his head nonchalantly. "No matter, no matter – momentous scenes are imminent! I must be prepared!"

He stretched out his hands with a luxurious crick, spread his arms out with a sweep and sprung onto his parchment once more.


	4. 28 AKT: Resurrection :part b:

**Princess Tutu**  
-_Kapitel des Vogel_-  
-鳥の章-  
(Chapter of the Bird)

28. AKT "Resurrection"  
~ Mondschein Sonata : Adagio sostenuto ~  
(Moonlight Sonata: 1st mvt.)

- Part 2 -

Fakir finally walked away with defeated frustration from the enrollment office. He noticed that most of the crowds had left for some reason, and many that were still leaving looked disgruntled. Across the grounds he could see some servants locking up the phone booths for the day. On the dance building, a few crows cawed irritably.

A crackle sounded from one of the bush trees nearby. Suspecting the noise was intentional, Fakir walked towards the shrub. After he reached it, another bush farther away next to the library rustled the same deliberate way. Fakir's brow furrowed wryly while he approached it, as he now thought he knew who the mysterious recluse was. "Trutho, there's no one around. You don't have to keep hiding."

After a moment's hesitation, the white-haired boy emerged.

"Fakir, I'm not sure what to do now. I've been waiting around school for a while and there were so many people around. I trailed Rue-san for a while, and she didn't seem to need me, so…" He looked guilty. "Even if she did, I'm not sure I could go up to her after leaving like that."

"You're the one that decided to leave, so you need to deal with the consequences of your absence."

Trutho's expression grew intense with compulsory fear. "I know, but…"

"It's not like she's going to kill you," Fakir replied with slight puzzlement.

"Yeah…I guess…" For some reason, this seemed to abate his anxiety somewhat.

Fakir sighed. "If you're worried about the dancing part, I can tutor you. I'll be here at the school often now, since I've started attending classes again, so if we can find an empty classroom, you can practice without interruption."

"…That would probably help. Thanks, Fakir." Trutho opened his mouth as if he was going to say more, but hesitated. "But, um…not that I mean to be ungrateful or anything, but what happened to the duck you were with? Why isn't she with you? …Something didn't happen to her, did it?"

"…Not really. She's doing fine, if that's what you mean."

"Oh." Trutho seemed halfway satisfied with the answer, but a little put out.

Fakir's lips leveled in consideration, and then he added, "If you really want to find out where she is, then Ahiru might know. Might."

"Ahiru?"

"The red-head I was with the other time."

"Oh. Okay. Ahiru, Ahiru," Trutho repeated it to himself. "Funny, her name is the same as the duck's…"

"That's…why she would know." Fakir crossed his arms. "You probably should be getting back, now."

"Well…"

"Do you want me to escort you?"

Trutho looked at him with disgruntlement. "All right, all right, I get the picture…" He straightened his cloak and slinked away, disappearing in a blink.

o-o-o-o-o

By the time the bells struck three, the campus was empty of the telephone fanatics and was calm once more. The teachers let the few people actually in class be, but even they soon dwindled away back to the dorms.

After a while, when the shadows were growing longer, Sagi and Ahiru finally left the dance studio to return to their dorm for the night.

"So, what did you think of it so far?" Ahiru asked Sagi.

"I couldn't really say," she replied, "we didn't really do much that time, did we?"

"Yeah, that was an off day, because of all of the ruckus about the new telephone things and all," Ahiru said with an apologetic smile. "Next time, I'm sure it'll be more exciting that it was today."

"I suspected as much," Sagi nodded. "Although, I think doing warm-ups is very relaxing. They help to ease the tension in one's body and mind…"

Ahiru suddenly started, and checked her arms and sides. Then, she cried out in alarm. "Ahhhh! I need to wash my ballet uniform, but I forgot to bring it back!" She turned tail and dashed back towards the academy gates.

"Wait, should I come with you?" Sagi called after her.

"No, go on ahead! It'll be just a second!"

Sagi blinked, but continued on the road to the dorms.

o-o-o-o-o

Ahiru huffed up past the gates and into the grounds, stopping for a breath. When she finally caught it, she realized something else. "Oh, wait, I don't need to wash them, I just got them…so they're already clean…"

Ahiru laughed nervously, and turned around to head back when she heard a shrill voice yell out. Perturbed, she located the source of the voice and then hid behind a bush, observing what was happening. When Ahiru saw it, her eyes widened and she gasped.

A young man was wrenching something out of the chest of a girl whom he held down. In a flash she recognized the young man as the dark-haired boy she had seen earlier that day, and the girl as none other than that girl she saw leave at the dance class before, Myra.

Horrified, Ahiru tore towards them. "What are you doing!?"

The dark-haired young man yanked away from Myra's chest a small, gleaming crimson shard. He checked it over and stepped back. He glanced fleetingly at Ahiru, smirked, and with a flurry of black feathers, jumped back and disappeared from sight.

Ahiru rushed over to Myra, who lay on the ground, wincing. "Are you all right? What did he do to you?"

Myra groaned, and her eyes opened with difficulty. She put a hand over her heart. "It hurts…deep inside. He said he wanted to help me, and then…" She sat up slowly. "Except now, I…"

"Myra!"

"There you are!"

Myra's two friends, Lin and Teresa, had arrived on the scene.

"We were looking for you for so long!" Teresa exclaimed between breaths.

"We tried the classrooms, the dorms, around town at the usual spots, but you weren't there! What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Huh?" she looked up at them. "Oh, Lin-chan, Teresa-chan – I'm so glad you're both here!"

She stood up and embraced them both in a threesome group hug. Lin and Teresa blinked bewilderedly. "_Are_you all right, Myra?"

"I'm…well, my heart aches, but…now, I feel…"

She trailed off, but her face was one of peace and relief.

Her two friends nodded in understanding. Then, Lin realized. "Oh, I get it now…you just needed a good cry by yourself, right, Myra?"

"Um, not exactly, but…" Myra's brow furrowed, then she shook her head and smiled. "But that doesn't matter. What's important is that I'm better now." She turned and looked at each of them. "Let's go back to the dorms together."

Lin and Teresa nodded. "Yeah!"

As they left, the girls turned to Ahiru.

"We owe you big time for helping Myra out with whatever it was that was troubling her," Lin said.

"Oh, um…no problem!" Ahiru rubbed the back of her neck abashedly. "Glad to help!"

After they were gone, Ahiru still stood there, deep in thought. _What happened there? That boy took something from her chest…and then, after that, Myra says she was glad to see her friends and even hugs them, even though before she could hardly get close to them without getting upset. That has to be related…then, did he take out the thing that caused her to be upset?_

Her eyes widened. _Then, that would mean that he's done a good thing, and he's helped her out! Would that make him a good guy?_

Ahiru's brows furrowed. _But then, why did he cause her so much pain? Did he have to go about it like that in order to fix the problem? What was he trying to do?_

She sighed and shook her head bewilderedly.

o-o-o-o-o

Sagi looked up from her seat on her bed at the sound of the door opening. "Ahiru, you're back so late…did you get your ballet outfit all right?"

"Actually, I didn't need to get it anyway…" Ahiru meandered into the room and climbed the ladder to her bed and plopped down on it face first.

"Oh…" Sagi didn't press for any answers, but her unspoken queries hung about her. "Fakir-san was looking for you before, and I said you'd be back soon, but I think he'd be in his room by now…"

I don't know if I can explain what happened today to Sagi-chan… Ahiru remained silent, and lay on her bed contemplatively.

o-o-o-o-o

The stars shone brightly outside of the dorm room's window as Ahiru lay in her nightdress under the covers of her bed. After a few minutes, she glanced at Sagi, who she saw was already sound asleep. _Maybe I could tell Fakir about it. But then again, it's past bedtime, and he's in the other dorm, so I couldn't possibly reach him…_

Then, she heard footsteps on the wooden floor in the hallway behind the walls. Ahiru jumped down from the bed and cracked open the door.

"—call a room's number by first pressing '0', then '1' for the boys' dorm, then their room number. All right, I've got it," a girl with short curly brown hair muttered to herself as she passed through the hall.

"It's Hermia…" Ahiru murmured.

"I feel glad now that Lysander told me what his room number is so we could arrange a time to talk over a distance like this…"

Ahiru's eyes widened in realization. "Ah, that's right, there are the telephones that are installed here now! And if she could call Lysander, then I could call Fakir!"

Hermia picked up the phone in the middle of the corridor and began carefully rotating the little number wheel, with little clicks and dings sounding as she completed each round. Then, she held the funnel-shaped object to her ear and waited. Ahiru crept out of her room and waited nearby.

Sometime later, Ahiru was growing weary, occasionally shivering where she stood. _How long is Hermia going to talk? I've been waiting here for what seems like forever!_

Then, Ahiru sneezed. Hermia started, and turned around, looking for the sudden noise. "Is someone there?" She glanced towards Ahiru.

"Quack!" Off her guard, Ahiru had let out her taboo exclamation.

In a twinkle of red light she vanished out of sight. Hermia glanced around her, but finding no one at eye level, she turned back to the telephone receiver, her hand cupped over her mouth.

On the floor, Ahiru the duck lay sprawled out on the floor, tangled in her nightdress. _What's going on? I transformed back? But it's not the same pendant! Why did the same thing happen…?_

She pondered. _I suppose the Lake Spirit wasn't just being modest when she said that she wasn't all-powerful…maybe the same limitation of quacking still applies with this magic too._

"…Lysander, I probably should go now. It's getting late," Hermia whispered. She said a brief farewell and then hung the telephone back on the receiver. She quietly walked away down the hall, missing Ahiru because she was out of the way and the darkness concealed the small duck enough.

Ahiru scrambled up and hopped about in vain trying to reach the telephone. _Oh, great…the telephone's free, but now I can't reach it!_

She snatched up her nightclothes and, suspecting she knew exactly what would change her back into a person, hurried back into her room where she knew there was a bucket of water in the corner.

She dashed back out as human Ahiru, and picked up the cone-shaped device and put it to her ear, and was about to spin around the number reel when she realized something and stopped short. _I have no idea what Fakir's room number is…_

Ahiru wept in comical dismay. "After all that trouble…"

I guess I'll just have to tell him about it tomorrow…

o-o-o-o-o

Sagi awoke early in the morning, when the fog still hung around the ground. She glanced towards the bunk perpendicular from hers on the adjacent wall, and saw that Ahiru was still fast asleep. She therefore was careful to keep quiet as she pulled aside her covers and reached for the book that she had borrowed from the library during that short time she had to herself around the Kinkan school campus. On its cover read the title: _Die Angewohnheiten und Tendenzen von Süßwasser Fisch_ (The Habits and Tendencies of Freshwater Fish). She thought of staying inside the comfy warm room to read it, but after glancing outside at the dorm fountain, she reconsidered. She was more comfortable around water, anyway.

Sagi, now in her new gray Kinkan uniform, exited the ladies' dorm out the main entrance. She sat on the rim of the fountain on which stood a statue of two stylized dancers, one holding the other. She took out her book and began to read quietly.

After a while, Sagi realized that she was not alone. Across from her side of the fountain sat another person, a male Kinkan student to be specific, judging from his uniform. She looked a little closer and noticed that he had black, curly hair. He clutched something in his hand, and although she couldn't be sure since he was facing the other direction, he seemed to be gazing intently at what he held.

Sagi turned back to her book. His presence did not bother her; he was quiet enough to not be a distraction.

Overhead, a lone raven cackled, its caws echoing in the misty silence. It alighted on the roof of the ladies' dorm and watched the fountain with a probing curiosity.

"Ravens," a male voice behind Sagi suddenly said. "What do you think of them?"

Sagi glanced behind her at the source of the voice. The young man still looked the other way, even though Sagi couldn't see anyone else he could be addressing. She wasn't even sure if he was expecting a response or not.

After a few moments, Sagi shifted her legs and answered, "They're solitary birds. They tend to be by themselves most of the time."

"Don't they seem…horrible to you? They're dark, grim harbingers of destruction and ruin. They flock towards death and thrive off it. It is no wonder that humans consider them evil."

"They're scavengers, aren't they?" Sagi replied. "That's how they have to survive. They don't have talons or sharp beaks, but they have wits and cunning. That's their tool for staying alive, so they use it."

The young man leaned his head back, gazing at her sidelong. "Is that a justification to you? You don't sound like you have much hatred for them, unlike most."

Sagi pondered for a moment. "Maybe one reason why I don't hate them is because I can relate to them, in a way."

"Oh?"

"They are solitary birds, by nature," Sagi reiterated, "They might not have others to rely on for help, but they don't really need it. They can get along in the world by themselves just fine. That's also how I work."

"Truly?" the young man said, almost with amusement.

The raven on the rooftop, seemingly bored at this point, turned its head and flapped away, cawing nonchalantly.

The raven-haired boy gazed back down at the object clutched in his hand once more. "Solitude…" he murmured. After a moment, the young man stood and turned his head around, finally looking at her directly. "How interesting."

He turned and strolled out towards the dormitory gate. "I, too, struggle alone."

o-o-o-o-o

Trutho tugged at the sleeve of the Kinkan uniform he was wearing and nodded approvingly. "This definitely works. Newest clothing I've worn for…well, I don't know when." He fiddled with the golden brooch on his collar. "It's more comfortable than that royal suit I wore yesterday, at least…"

"The uniform isn't all that special," Rue replied. "Surely you've gotten clothes better than this before?"

"Not often," Trutho answered faintly. "Ones I'm used to were usually somewhat worn when I got them, and there were times that they needed some cleaning before they were decent enough to wear in public. And they hardly ever fit this well. Custom tailored for size and length? Never before in my lifetime…or memory, anyway."

Rue looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Say, why are _you_ wearing one?" Trutho asked curiously. "I thought you wouldn't deign to wear a simple uniform around your own palace."

Rue furrowed a brow at him. "Do you think wearing that elaborate and bulky white gown in a casual setting is appropriate?"

"…Um, well, I guess not…"

"Even without considering the matter of convenience, I'm wearing it mostly because it sets a good example for the other students here. If I'm wearing one, others will feel inspired to wear theirs as well."

"You're probably right about that…" Trutho remarked.

Rue looked at him.

"It's…true, isn't it?" Trutho said. "Everyone here admires you royal people so much you're celebrities. They'll do anything to be in any way connected to you."

Rue sighed. "Such is both the boon and bother of nobility."

She went over to the dresser and grabbed the jar of hazel-colored dust. She pushed it into Trutho's hands. "Make sure you remember to put this on. I don't want to have to remind you every day."

Trutho laughed feebly, and then opened the jar.

As he finished applying the powder, Rue headed for the door to the hallway. Before turning the doorknob, she glanced back at Trutho. "Don't go running off like you did yesterday."

Trutho tensed, becoming oddly rigid.

Rue blinked, and then opened the door and went out. With reluctance, Trutho trailed her stiffly.

After a few steps, Rue suddenly turned around. "Trutho, are you afraid of me?"

Trutho blinked, taken aback. "Eh? Wh-what do you mean? Why would I be afraid of you?"

Rue gazed at him for a few moments. Then, she chuckled and turned back around. "Let's go…Mytho."

With his unease replaced by tentative confusion, Trutho followed her.

o-o-o-o-o

Ahiru ran to class, hoping she'd be able to catch Fakir and talk to him about the previous afternoon before the bell rang. Unfortunately, just as she passed through the courtyards, the chiming began. _At least I'll be just on time…_

When Ahiru reached the classroom, she recognized Pike and Lilie talking together. Her eyes widening, she waved at them. "Pike! Lilie!"

They both looked towards Ahiru with surprise. Then, they blinked, and started whispering to each other.

"How does that girl know our names?" Lilie whispered to Pike.

"I don't know…do you know her?" Pike whispered back.

"No, I don't. Do you?"

Ahiru sighed dejectedly. _I guess they didn't remember me after the story was over…_

"I wonder who she is? Does she know us?"

"Maybe she's been following us! For some sinister and mysterious reason…" Lilie murmured with starry eyes.

"We should keep an eye on her," Pike nodded.

"That's right! We should!" Lilie agreed.

Ahiru sweatdropped, and took a seat next to Sagi as the teacher began class.

o-o-o-o-o

"Rue-san, are you sure this is a good idea?" Trutho whispered, sitting with Rue in the back of the rows of seats lined up in the Kinkan academy classroom. "What if the instructor asks me something that I don't know?"

"Why would she?" she whispered back. "Her goal while we're here would be to show us how much her students know, not for her to question us. In any case, I'll handle the talking."

"That's a relief," Trutho murmured with a relieved sigh.

"Just stay calm and pretend you know what people are talking about," Fakir muttered from his seat in front of Rue.

"Right, okay," Trutho nodded.

"You make sure you listen and learn everything you can while you're here," Rue told Trutho. "The sooner you learn the basics, the better."

"All right, all right…"

Across from them, Ahiru sighed. "If only I could have gotten here earlier, then I could have gotten a chance to talk to Fakir before class started…"

She glanced towards where Fakir was seated and noticed that the black-haired boy from the day before was sitting on Fakir's left. Her face fell. _And even if I could tell him about it during class…_

"I apologize for not waking you up," said Sagi, who was seated next to Ahiru. "I wanted to get here earlier, but I didn't want to disturb you, so…"

"No, it's okay," Ahiru excused it offhandedly. "I can talk to him after class, anyway."

Sagi was a little confused, as she had no context on what Ahiru was talking about, but naturally she let it pass.

"Students, today we are going to review everything that we've learned over this past semester," Yagiko-sensei stated. She noted with pride that the students didn't moan nearly as much as usual today, and she chalked it all up to the royal presence here at her class. _I almost wish they'd come every day, just to have everyone act like this…_

The lavender-clad gray-brown haired educator called on a few students and asked a few questions, and each of them answered quite proudly. She was about to call on the braided redhead in the back when she realized she didn't know her name. Considering that the girl was new and likely wouldn't know the answer, she changed her mind and searched around and her eyes fell on the black-haired boy sitting next to Fakir. "Caras-san, what is the barre and what is its purpose?"

No answer.

"Caras-san?"

The boy named Caras, leaning on his elbow on the desk, didn't respond.

Realizing too late that she had just called on the one student that would never answer to an instructor, or anyone else for that matter, she grimaced and tried in vain to finish what she started. "Caras-san, I'm talking to you!"

This time, Caras actually seemed to acknowledge that someone was indeed speaking, possibly to him. After glancing briefly at the instructor, he turned away and ignored her.

From the corner of her eye, Ahiru sensed a shadow flash across her vision outside the window. For the second time, Caras stirred from his seat and gazed out through the glass. Then, as if it were the most natural and normal thing for him to do, he got out of his seat and strolled towards the exit.

Yagiko-sensei blinked with annoyance, but not surprise. "Wh-what do you think you're doing?"

At this point, Ahiru noticed that quite a few female students were discreetly gaping at him, awash with adoration. One of these several female students was Lilie. Next to her, Pike paid little attention, but she peeked at Fakir periodically. Fakir, at a cursory glance, seemed to be unperturbed by his former seatmate, but Ahiru thought she sensed a wary tension tinting his expression.

Yagiko-sensei at this point sighed jadedly. "Fakir-san, you answer, please."

Fakir grimaced, and took a breath. "A barre is a wooden bar attached to the wall of a dance room to aid in exercising. The proper technique of stretching on this is…"

As Fakir continued his explanation, Trutho squirmed uncomfortably as Caras passed right by him.

"What's wrong?" Rue asked him with bafflement.

Trutho hesitated, and then, after Caras had reached the doorway, he leaned closer towards Rue's ear with his hand cupped over his mouth. "Did that guy that was sitting in front of me bother you at all? Because, well…something about him gives me the _shivers_…"

Rue looked towards the exit where Caras was leaving. "I don't feel anything strange about him," she said. However, her gaze lingered on the doorway. _Had he been looking at Trutho when he had walked past?_Her brows furrowed with veiled anxiety. _Or me?_

o-o-o-o-o

"Sire, we've received a letter from the Kinkan palace," Komaro said, bringing in the mail from the inn's lobby.

"What, a reply that quickly?" Mytho asked, puzzled but delighted.

"I don't think it would have been sent that fast, my Lord, even though I did send it express," Komaro replied. "This one must have been sent of its own accord, without a prompt from us." He scrutinized the writing on the envelope. "Ah, it must have been written by Meryl-san…"

"Let's see what it says. With luck, it may have information about the telephone number sequences."

They opened the envelope up, and sure enough, inside was a list including not only one, but just about all of the Kinkan castle's telephone numbers corresponding to the private royal quarters, and a few of the corridor phones as well, each location labeled with neat organization.

"My compliments to whoever wrote this up," Mytho murmured appreciatively.

Komaro nodded with agreement, almost proudly.

"I shall try this telephone out right away," Mytho said with eagerness. "Let's see, now…where would Rue most likely be now?"

"Hmmm…" Komaro pondered a moment. "It's hard to say, since there is the schedule of the classes that she would visit to consider, and noon is nearing, so she may even be walking around the campus, and so determining her exact location is tricky."

"I suppose I could always wait for her to call me, but…" Mytho sighed. "What if it was the other way around? Then both of us would be waiting, and neither would contact the other. I'll try out each of these and see if she answers any of them."

"Be careful, your Highness – er, my Lord," Komaro corrected himself, "Some of those numbers do correspond to telephones within public reach, so if someone other than Rue answers, be sure to not say anything and close the connection as soon as possible."

"Right, yes," Mytho said, picking up the funnel on the receiver.

o-o-o-o-o

As Rue passed through the corridor, the telephone down the hall began to ring. Puzzled, she approached it slowly, and tentatively reached a hand out to pick up the phone. Rue held the device in her hand, silent as she awaited a sound, or some kind of signal that would indicate what she was supposed to do.

On the other end, Mytho was listening carefully for a reply.

"Anything?" Komaro whispered. "Remember, don't give yourself away unless you know who it is…"

The previous other lines Mytho had dialed rang on for several moments without an answer, or else the answer came from someone quite arbitrary that made Mytho place the phone cautiously back on the receiver.

"Someone picked up the other end, but I'm not getting an answer…" Mytho murmured back.

"Hmm…" Komaro's brow furrowed warily. "Put it back down as quietly as you can, then…"

Rue's patience wavered, and she ventured a few words into an end of the phone. "…Is anyone there?"

"Hm?" Mytho put up the phone again. "Is that you, Rue?"

Komaro twitched at Mytho speaking, and a hand began to sprout out in silent protest.

Rue heard her name. "…Mytho?"

"Rue?"

Beside Mytho, Komaro's hand wilted tentatively, and then dropped back to his side.

"Mytho?" She paused. "Wait…you aren't Trutho, are you?"

"Who? Trutho?"

"You don't sound like him…the one you left behind in your place."

_Trutho…that must be the name that he calls himself now…_ "So you have already found out, as I thought you would…"

"…You _are_ Mytho, aren't you?" Rue said cautiously.

Even though Rue couldn't see it, Mytho smiled. "Yes. I am Prince Siegfried, and if I am not mistaken, you are my princess, Rue."

Rue smiled, unknowingly in return. "You must be Mytho, then."

On the other side, Rue heard Komaro heave a sigh of relief before gasping and suddenly cutting himself off into forced silence.

"Mytho?"

"Yes, Rue?"

Her voice hardened to a crisp. "Don't ever run off like this again."

Mytho swallowed. "I…I'm sorry, Rue."

"I don't know if you'll ever realize how I would feel if something had happened to you."

"Please, don't worry about me," Mytho replied. "I'll be fine. Komaro's here, so I'm not alone."

Then, some sounds of movement on Mytho's end, and Mytho's voice, sounding quieter from a distance, said, "Komaro, you look like you want to say something?"

"If I may…there is one matter I would like to discuss with her Majesty," Komaro replied in the same distant volume.

More sounds of movement, and then Komaro's voice came out through the telephone. "Your Highness? Are you there?"

"Komaro?"

"Yes, I would just like to inform you that I will be referring to his Highness as 'White-sama', so as to minimize the risk of being discovered," Komaro stated. "I would also recommend that you do the same."

"What for?" Rue glanced around her surroundings. "I'm quite sure no one is around right now to overhear us…"

"Besides eavesdroppers on the outside, I also know that these devices may be intercepted so that an individual could listen in on a talk without the two conversationalists knowing."

On the other side, Rue could manage to make out Mytho's voice, "Komaro, as far as I know, no one is actively looking for me. These kinds of precautions aren't really necessary."

"All the same, your High…my Lord," Komaro replied. "This is one of the ways we may be caught, and 'tis best to give as little chance for others to discover us as possible."

Then, the bells of Kinkan Academy began to chime. Rue's lips pursed. "Komaro, let me speak to Mytho…oh, all right, White-san, then. I must leave soon."

"Certainly, your Highness."

A pause, and then, "Rue?"

"Classes are starting. We shall talk more later," Rue told Mytho.

"All right. Farewell for now, then."

"Goodbye."

Rue stood there long after the line disconnected before, taking a breath, she hung it up swiftly and focused her attention on finding Trutho and getting to the next class.

o-o-o-o-o

As Trutho strolled through the campus of Kinkan Academy during the noontime recess, the periodic bows and formal salutations he received as he passed by did nothing to curb his anxiety.

"Hello…Hi…Good day…" Trutho grimaced. _It would be really nice if I could just find a quiet place to sit down, without all of this attention!_

He headed for the outskirts of the grounds, behind the buildings, where he found a small strip of land where the only things around were a bunch of trees that formed a miniature forest, some bushes and a water spigot on the wall of the adjacent building. He took a seat next to the faucet and glanced up at the pallid cloudy sky. "Sure looks like winter's coming…"

Then, he sensed he wasn't alone. He checked around, and noticed a group of girls slinking towards his direction, apparently hidden among the trees. His supposedly secluded spot wasn't so secluded anymore. And this spot was otherwise the only quiet spot he knew about on campus.

_Can't these people just leave me alone for once?_

He sighed. _Maybe I can talk to them and say something about needing some time by myself. At least they'll probably listen, since I'm supposed to be a prince and all._

He reluctantly held his ground. They were whispering to each other, but the words were too quiet for him to catch.

"You know, it has been kind of weird, how the Prince and Princess have been acting these last few days."

"Yeah, I know! Did you hear? I've heard rumors that yesterday, the Prince disappeared when they were out walking and he didn't come back until later in the afternoon. I wonder what that was about…?"

"And I swear, I heard him call her 'Rue-san', instead of his usual 'Rue'…that's gotta mean something!"

"I swear, something happened during their leave. I think they had a fight, that's what I think happened. That would sure explain why he seems so agitated lately. And if that's the case, that means…he's all up for grabs!"

Another one giggled. "Let's be the first ones! Oooh, I can't wait!"

Back near the spigot, Trutho was getting nervous. The group of girls drawing near didn't seem so innocuous up close as they had a little distance away. He reconsidered retreating after all, but he was a few moments too late. The girls emerged from hiding and approached him furtively.

"Good morning, your Highness!" they all crooned in an eerie chorus.

Trutho frowned uneasily. "G-good morning…"

To his dismay, they surrounded him in a loose encirclement. "Such a fine day outside, isn't it, your Majesty?"

Trutho took a deep breath, and said nothing. Maybe if he ignored them, they'd go away.

One of them sat down next to him. "I suppose things must be going rough for you, haven't they?"

Trutho closed his eyes for a moment, pursing his lips.

Another one bent over him, her hand creeping towards his face. "You must be so tired, Mytho-sama. Here, we'll help you relax…"

Trutho shied away from the reaching fingers. "Excuse me, but um…would you all mind leaving me alone? I'd…I'd like some time by myself, to think…"

One girl leaned over the spigot, dangerously teetering over it and partially blocking the faucet with her sleeve. "Oh, come now, don't be like that, Prince…we aren't _bothering_ you now, are we?"

Trutho's brows furrowed, and after taking a breath, he suddenly stood up. "Actually, you all are. I really want you all to let me be."

The girl leaning on the faucet was a little taken aback from his abrupt movement, and she fell over slightly, shoving the faucet knob on. At the same time, her hand blocked the water flow almost entirely, so that instead of flowing out smoothly, it spurted out violently, directly into Trutho's face.

"Argh!" Trutho grasped his eye, which had taken some of the water in the splash.

"Oh, oops…" The girl leaning over the spigot scrambled up and went over to Trutho. "Are you all right?" She leaned in towards his face, looking carefully.

"No, I'm fine…" He leaned away. "Just a little water in my eye, that's all…" _I'd actually feel better if you all just went away, right now…_

The girl's brow furrowed as she stopped. "Oh…wait, your eyes…what's happening to them?"

Trutho froze in horror. He doubted that his eye was getting red from irritation. More like blue. _Oh, shoot…not good. Not good at all. Umm…time for Plan B!_

"Ahhhhhh!" Trutho grasped his eye dramatically with both of his hands, heaving in ostensible pain. "My eye…it _burns__!_"

The girls blinked startledly. "Er…your Majesty?"

"I must…go and apply ointment to it immediately!" He pushed his way through the group of girls, who were luckily stunned enough that they weren't able to hold him back.

_All right, that actually worked well…avoided being caught and got away from those devilettes-in-training,_ he thought, smiling slightly in relief.

He turned a corner. _Just need to get to a mirror in a washroom somewhere, and then I'm as good as—_

"Ooof!" Trutho, unable to see his right side, had run straight into someone and nearly knocked them both over.

Trutho blinked and straightened himself up. "Argh, I'm awfully sorry about that, it was hard for me to see –"

The dark-haired boy named Caras looked back at him.

A stupefied moment passed with both simply staring at one another. Then, as Caras took a step towards him, Trutho dashed away, at nearly twice the speed he had been going before.

_Washroom, washroom, washroom…where's that stupid washroom?! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…if only I knew this place better…!_

After entering and running through an indoor hallway, stumbling a few more times in the process, he was all too soon out of breath. He leaned against a wall and panted for a bit, glancing around, quickly covering up his right eye in case someone was around.

"Where are you going to in such a hurry?" A dreadfully familiar voice behind Trutho inquired.

Trutho looked back at Caras with an acute mix of alarm and bewilderment. _I didn't even hear anyone following me, and I was running at full speed! What's up with this guy? It's like he appeared out of nowhere…_

What Trutho replied was, "Well…I'm trying to find the washroom, since I really need to…rinse off my eye. I got something in it, you see," he explained quickly.

"I see." Caras looked down the hall. "The nearest one is down this hallway and directly to your left."

"Oh. Okay," Trutho nodded tentatively.

"It's a little strange, though," Caras commented casually, turning back to Trutho and studying him, "that you wouldn't know the location of a washroom in your own residence?"

Trutho grimaced, flustered. "Well, I usually don't visit this area, and besides…" After a thought of confirmation, he resumed, "I've been away from here for a little while, so some things might have slipped my mind." _Hopefully that was the case when he arrived back here the other day…_

"Ah. I…suppose that would make sense." He turned towards the hall and looked back at him. "In that case, I am obliged to escort you there so you do not waste time wandering about aimlessly."

Trutho's brow furrowed. "No, I can find it for myself –"

"Oh, but I insist."

Trutho looked at him. Some unknown part of him, scattered in vague blurs around his mind, was tacitly screaming for him to get away immediately, but his logic questioned this ungrounded feeling. The more he tried to pinpoint the source of his uneasiness, the more his head ached with the effort. He hardly knew this person, so what would he know? And so far, he had been appropriately polite. Even if he meant harm, of which was highly unlikely, there were a few other people around to hear if something strange was going on. "All right, fine."

As they walked, Trutho pondered. _What could there possibly be about him that I'm so spooked about? Do I know him from somewhere? I certainly don't recognize him from anywhere…that I can remember, anyway…_

He glanced over at Caras, who he noticed had discreetly been scrutinizing him at a side-glance. Trutho clasped his eye tighter.

When they finally reached the washroom, Trutho quickly stumbled in, fumbled with the jar of infuriating-but-necessary dust and applied it as promptly as he could. It didn't help that his eyes were still adjusting to the light disparity from his covering up his eye for so long.

_Next time, I'm not bothering to check in the mirror. I'm just going to swab a liberal amount on my face and hope that wherever Mytho-san got the dust from has refills…_

When he was finished, he glanced towards the door and hesitated. Was that guy still hanging around out there? Peering outside, he at first didn't see anyone. Not trusting his first impressions, he gingerly stepped out and darted his head around. To his partial relief, no black-haired pale youth was to be seen. Still, even after he had stepped completely out and was on his way again, he was still wary. _Maybe I'm getting paranoid…that might explain why I had that weird funk with Rue-san yesterday._

He shook his head with an irritated grimace. _Look at this;__I don't even seem to know myself anymore. How pathetic of me._

After the bells signaling the end of lunchtime rang, Trutho found himself back at the center campus grounds again, this time with students walking about in organized chaos back to whatever was their next class for the day. Thankfully, they only had time to spare a quick nod or smile before heading on ahead. He wished that was how they acted all other times.

Not quite sure what to do next, he stood on the walkway, watching as people filed past.

"Oh, your _Highness_!" A few terribly familiar female voices chimed in behind him. Turning behind him in muted dismay, Trutho froze in horror as they approached him yet again, appearing from behind the statues that lined the stone walkways.

Then, something they saw made them stop in their tracks and hurry along their own ways to class. Trutho blinked, and turned around once more to discover what could make the she-minions of menace disappear into thin air.

Rue strolled down the walkway towards him. "All right, there you are. The bells rang already, so we should be heading for the next classroom to visit."

Trutho glanced from the statues to Rue, back to the statues and then to Rue again. Then, with a flash of realization, he approached her, heaved a sigh of relief, and with all the deliberation in the world linked arms with her and said in a rush, "Thank goodness you're here, Rue-san. Let's go now, okay?"

Rue couldn't have been more bewildered than if Trutho had just blasted off to the moon riding on an albino orangutan. "Wh-what…?"

Speechless, she simply shook her head with stupefaction and led them to the next class.

o-o-o-o-o

Even as the distant bells chimed for students to return to class, Caras paid no heed. They meant nothing to him. Right now, there was nothing he wanted there.

Caras entered his dorm room, alone. The dorm room was of course empty. He had no roommate.

That was how it always had been. How it had to be. How he wanted it. He wanted to stay away from humans as much as possible. Otherwise, if he wasn't careful, he might become more and more like them, until one day, he might actually become one of them.

_That must never happen._

He had left the window open, so a draft filtered through the curtains, ushering in the cries and cackles of the dark birds just out of sight nearby. The familiar sounds led him towards the window.

He gazed outside at the ravens gathered around the roof near him. Even as they glimpsed him, they simply glanced at him with a playful fondness and went about with whatever they were amusing themselves with. Such loyalty. Even though he would never admit it to anyone, hardly himself, he found it quite comforting that they would still recognize and respect him even in his repulsive human form. At the same time, he still felt ashamed…

He could still remember clearly the moment he had become aware of his new had been crouching in a dark corner of a street in Kinkan, the very same town the raven had met his downfall. It had been dark, and a drenching rainstorm had been pouring outside. It had been cold, so very cold. The last thing he had remembered before losing consciousness was an engulfing, all-consuming agony deep within his heart. Upon regaining his alertness, he clutched his chest impulsively. Then, he realized that it was no wing that he was grasping with. He brought it up to his eyes, and with a jolt, realized it was a human hand. His hand shot to his face, and he felt not a feathery head and beak, but a nose, lips, and human hair. That had been one of the worst moments he could ever recall in his life, as he slipped into utter despair and wished nothing but for his life to end, for fate to have pity on him and rid him of his disgrace. Mercifully, the chilliness swallowed him up rapidly, and he could barely remember a silhouette of a woman standing outside of the alley looking his direction before slipping into a warm, unfeeling darkness.

Afterwards he had woken up and found himself in thecare of the fortune-teller Takako, who had a somewhat irritating habit of enigmatic vagueness. However, from the way she regarded him, somehow, she knew what he really was. He had noticed that he had on a white loose shirt and casual pants over the skin-tight black, downy clothing he had found himself with, which werenow dry. She made no objections when he got up to leave, and only told him that Kinkan Academy was where "they" had attended school every day. He knew whom she was speaking of – the Prince, the Knight, and the duck, formerly known as Princess Tutu. How she knew, he could only guess, but he exited the hazy, enigmatic dwelling of the fortune-teller to a bright, sunlit morning, dewy from the previous night's downpour. Such a drastic contrast of scenery.

Before he'd know it, he was here, attending Kinkan Academy of Fine Arts, under the name of "Caras", an adaptation of his true identity – _karasu_. But, he was devoid of his full might as the Raven, so he had no power to even change himself back into a raven, much less turn the whole town into ravens with a single shower of raven blood, as he was able to do before his heart was sliced apart.

_That will change,_ he thought as he leaned out the window, catching the wind in his dark curls. He still had all of his memories intact. The only thing that kept him from being the magnificent raven he was once was the fact that his former heart had been shattered to pieces by that fairy-tale prince. Prince Siegfried had once shattered his own to seal him, but of course then the prince became an empty, emotionless being, and ironically he had needed to be rescued. It ended up being a useless effort on his part.

_But he did get his heart back eventually,_ Caras acknowledged. If someone could gather up the pieces of Mytho's heart and return all of them to him, then why wouldn't he be able to do the same thing?

_Then there's that other fact,_ Caras pointed out to himself, his scarlet eyes gleaming darkly. _If I didn't already have a heart, I would be emotionally comatose as well…_ He clasped his chest and felt his heartbeat. _This heart…it is a human's heart. It is not my original, but it is still__–_

His teeth clenched, stopping his thought before it was complete. _That will all change, once I find my raven's heart…then, this heart is no use to me…unless I wanted to sacrifice it to myself…_ He smirked at the thought.

One raven suddenly took off from its perch and flew towards him. He held out an arm, and the raven alighted on it, cackling to him as soon as it settled down.

Caras paused for a moment, contemplating his answer, and replied, "The others may not see anything yet, but let them have patience. Have them keep a vigilant watch. If my suspicions are correct, then the prince has already left this town."

He smiled. "And I very much doubt that anyone suspects my true identity." He sent the bird on its way, and it flew off into the sky to deliver the message. "This just might work out perfectly…"

* * *

**_Next episode preview_**

(A girl's voice) "Sorry, I'm disrupting your class, aren't I? It's just that, I really had to talk to someone here…"  
A brunette kneels by Ahiru in the dance studio.  
(Ahiru's voice) "But what do would you want to talk about with an apprentice dancing student? And at that, me…"  
The brunette talks spiritedly with Ahiru at the campus gazebo.  
"I don't know if anyone likes what I write. I really want everyone to like them. I really do…so much."  
A dark-haired young man approaches the girl standing in front of a library shelf.  
"Tell me…what is it that is troubling you?"  
In a dreary town, a horde of ravens swarms around a street corner. On a white horse, Mytho, dressed in a disguise with a brown wig, rushes towards them, unsheathing his swan-hilted blade. "Hurry, Komaro, we must help!"  
A man with aristocratic clothing stands in the shadows of a room, where three old women sat in chairs in front of a window.  
(A man's voice) "Perhaps it would be best if we had a look at this newcomer. So we can get a chance to understand his motives more closely."  
Ahiru sees the girl and the dark-haired boy at the prodding bridge.  
"If only I could do something! But I can't become Princess Tutu anymore…can I? But somehow, I've got to-"

**Princess Tutu**  
_-Kapitel des Vogel-  
_29. AKT "The Story of Rosamunde"  
- Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern -  
(Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus)

All children who love stories, come gather round once more! Heheheheheh…

* * *

**Extra notes:**

'hakuchou' – swan in Japanese  
'arukui' – anteater in Japanese; Arukuimi featured in ep. 2 of original series  
'wani' – alligator in Japanese; Waniko featured in various episodes throughout series  
'yagi' – goat in Japanese; Yagiko featured in ep. 9 of original series

**_28. AKT Music List  
_**(the time ranges listed show what part of the song is used in the scene, based either on the tracks of the original soundtrack or the source classical music)

"**Avant Title"  
**_Played after the first sentence during the prologue, and stops right before the title._  
The mysterious music used in each episode's prologue during the series; a foreboding version of "March" from the Nutcracker.

"**Morning Grace (TV vrs.)"  
**_Played at the title screen; imagine opening sequence here._  
(Artist: Ritsuko Okazaki) The opening of Princess Tutu; shortened version played in the show.

"**Bydlo"  
**(start 1 min 49 sec)  
_Played at the start of the story after the title; fade off in middle of song (without the louder part) at the end of the scene.  
_(from "Pictures at an Exhibition") A rumbling, grim song that starts out low but grows louder towards the end before fading away, low and grim as before.

"**Mysterious Kinkan Town"**  
_Played when the mysterious voice is heard by Ahiru and Sagi; fades out after the Lake Spirit appears and speaks._  
A mysterious, chiming remix of the Nutcracker "March" with ominous trumpets sounding in the background.

"**Aquarium"  
**_Played while the Lake Spirit talks to Sagi and Ahiru; ends before the Lake Spirit tells Ahiru she can turn Ahiru into a human._  
(from "The Carnival of the Animals") A mysterious, watery-sounding song.

"**Pas d'action – Rose Adagio"**  
_Played when the Lake Spirit tells Ahiru she can turn Ahiru into a human; cuts off suddenly when Fakir notices Ahiru is unclothed._  
(from "Sleeping Beauty") A dramatic, slow-starting song that gradually builds up more tension and anticipation, and ends with a strong, awe-inspiring trumpeting exclamation of triumph. That part gets cut off in the middle, in this case, though.

**"Promenade - The Old Castle"  
**(until 58 sec.)**  
**_Played during the scene with Mytho and Komaro going to their hotel room._  
(from "Pictures at an Exhibition") A composed, contemplative orchestral work with flutes and a calmly played horn.

**"Nocturne in E flat major"**  
_Played while Fakir, Ahiru and Sagi are on their way from the lake to Fakir's house._  
(composed by Chopin) A tranquil, contented piano piece with a relaxed, sincere mood.

"**Dance of the Reedpipes"  
**_Played when Trutho pops out from the bushes; stops after the three notice that Trutho is gone._  
(from "The Nutcracker") A playful, slightly humorous song with flutes as the main instrument used. Could be thought of as Trutho's theme.

**"Etudes I"  
**(start 48 sec., end 2 min 19 sec)**  
**_Played by Penguin-sensei while Ahiru and Sagi are in class._  
(composed by Kaoru Wada) A light-hearted, casual piano piece with a slow tempo suitable for ballet practice.

**"Overture"  
**_Plays briefly when Yagiko gets fed up with the truant loiterers outside._  
(from "The Marriage of Figaro") A triumphant, happy song that also played during the first season whenever Yagiko appeared in "Black Shoes", episode 9. Yagiko's theme.

**"Pas de Character"  
**_Plays when Myra makes her exclamation; ends at the end of the scene._  
(from "Sleeping Beauty") An ominous, at times biting, song with clarinet and strings to an erratic tempo. May also be recognized as Maleficent's theme from the Disney movie.

"**Drosselmeyer's Shadow"  
**(start 52 sec.)  
_Plays for the scene with Drosselmeyer commenting on the situation, and glancing at the black feather._  
A suspenseful version of "March" with eccentric xylophone notes intersecting throughout the piece.

"**Introduction and Dance of the Lilac Fairy"**  
_Played when Ahiru finds Caras; Dance of the Lilac Fairy begins when Myra's friends arrive; song ends at the end of the scene between Sagi and Ahiru in the dorms._  
(from "Sleeping Beauty") At first an exciting piece, but then gets peaceful and pretty when the Lilac Fairy's theme starts.

**"Fairy's March"  
**_Played when Ahiru hears footsteps in the hallway; ends at the end of the scene._  
(from "A Midsummer Night's Dream") A lighthearted, quiet, yet mysterious song with a march tempo played with chimes and flutes.

**"Sonata no.14 in C-sharp minor Op.27 No.2 'Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia' a.k.a. 'Moonlight Sonata' (2nd movement)"**  
_Played during the scene where Sagi and Caras sit at the fountain.  
_(composed by Beethoven) A whimsical, almost playful song that is lively at parts and calmer in others, with the lively major key conveying a sort of personality. Could be thought of as Caras's 2nd theme (three in all, including all three movements of the Moonlight Sonata).

**"Songs without Words op. 85 no. 2 'Adieu' – Allegro agitato"  
**_Played during the scene where Caras walks out of class; starts when Yagiko-sensei asks Caras the question, and ends at the end of the scene._  
(composed by Mendelssohn) An apprehensive song that starts out quiet but anxious, with the music building, and gets very loud towards the end but then suddenly quiets down.

**"Sonata no.14 in C-sharp minor Op.27 No.2 'Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia' a.k.a. 'Moonlight Sonata' (1st movement)"  
**_Played for the scene with Caras reminiscing._  
(composed by Beethoven) A sustained, quiet song with low notes and many sharps that give the feeling of a dark but tranquil night. Could be thought of as Caras's 1st theme (three in all, including all three movements of the Moonlight Sonata).

"**Watashi no Ai wa Chiisai Keredo (TV vrs.)"  
**_Played at the end of the episode; imagine ending sequence here.  
_(Artist: Ritsuko Okazaki) The ending of Princess Tutu; shortened version played in the show.

**"Overture"**  
_Played during the preview.  
_(from "Rosamunde") An alternately suspenseful and exciting orchestral piece, that starts out gently apprehensive…(only this part of the song is heard).


	5. 29 AKT: The Story of Rosamunde :part a:

Hello, everyone! I finally have the next chapter finished for all to read! I know it's been a long, long while; I've had a lot of work to deal with and my time has been preciously short. The next chapter will probably also take a long while to appear, hopefully in a shorter time than these previous ones have, but rest assured that even if I'm not updating fast I remain working on this project with all my available effort.

I'd like to give special heartfelt thanks to **Mangaka-chan** for all the encouragement, help, and beta-ing (not to mention all her lovely, greatly inspiring fanart :D ) that she's been giving me. I don't think I would have gotten this far this fast if it wasn't for her support. Three cheers :D

I'd also like to express my sincere gratitude to all the people out there still following the story after all this time and taking the time to give their feedback. Hearing your thoughts is what spurs me continue to make this story the best it can be! All of my work thus far is still a working draft, and any suggestions or comments are welcome and appreciated.

And now, I present AKT 29 of Chapter of the Bird. Please enjoy!

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a girl. The girl loved to write stories, and was at her desk day and night, countless tales flowing from her pen._

_One day, she decided to show them to everyone. But no one liked the stories. People said that they were strange and ridiculous. Even the one person whose opinion she believed in the most told her that her stories were foolish._

_The young author was devastated. She never wanted to write again._

_But then, she realized what she had to do. "I need to find out what people like about stories, and put them in mine," she said. So she asked around and within her stories placed everything that people said they wanted in a story. She hid away the peculiar stories that came from her pen before._

_Far away, another writer chuckled with scorn._

**Princess Tutu  
**~_Kapitel des Vogel_~  
-鳥の章-  
(Chapter of the Bird)

29. AKT "The Story of Rosamunde"  
~ Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern ~  
(Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus)

A girl with impeccably sharp night-colored hair paced impatiently across the classroom floor, shaking her head. "When, oh when, will you slackers ever learn to stay on deadlines?"

The boy and girl she was addressing idly draped themselves over the benches of adjacent nearby desks. The hazel-haired young woman sighed, throwing her head back, her arms hung behind her seat back loosely. Her uniform's coat jacket lay casually on top of the desk behind her. "If only we'd've had a decent idea, Sameko, we could've written one up ourselves. But ideas don't come out of thin air. You've got to have inspiration…"

The black-haired girl marched up to her. "Well, excuse me, Maguromi-san, we have to turn in a script for the school's ballet apprentice class performance by, oh, let's see – eight o'clock!" She glanced outside, where the sun was already high above the horizon. "According to my calculations, we'll only need to write two hundred words a minute to make it on time! Got any quick ideas? Hmm?"

The third student in the room, the pale black-haired boy, slouching deeply into his chair, sighed impassively with his hands in his lap. His white blouse had sleeves so long that they hung out considerably from his blue coat sleeves, and only the top halves of his fingers were visible. "I suppose we'll have to borrow a script…should someone go to the library? Maybe we'll find one there…"

"We can't do that, Tarao," Maguromi retorted. "If we use one that's already written, they'll know right away we fudged the entire thing. It's supposed to be an original work, after all."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Sameko snapped.

"Well…we might as well give up and admit we failed…" the pale boy mumbled jadedly.

"What?! Never! We're going to have a script if we have to bloody our hands doing it!" Sameko glanced around. "What are you all waiting for?"

Maguromi furrowed a brow. "What? Aren't _you_ going to do anything?"

"What do you mean? I'm already doing my job! The question is, what are _you__—_"

Abruptly, there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Come in," Tarao answered, but Sameko grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open before the person on the other side had time to react. The girl on the other side flinched as her hand recoiled from where the doorknob used to be.

"What is it? This is the ballet exhibition planning committee, and we're very busy right now, so whatever it is you want, please make it quick."

"Oh! Well, um, it's nothing really important, it's just that…well, I…" The light-haired brunette bashfully fingered the sheets of wrinkled parchment she was holding.

"If it's nothing, we have our work to do—"

"Say…is that a…script that you're holding?" Tarao sat up and pointed at the papers in the girl's hand.

Surprised, Sameko blinked and turned back towards the visitor.

Taking a chance to say something, the girl stammered, "Um, yes, this is a script, and it's mine, that is to say, um, I wrote it, and I was wondering…wondering if you would like to…like to feature it for the exhibition. If…if—"

"Whoa, wait a minute! Are you saying that you'll actually give us your script?" Maguromi, previously lethargic, stood straight up out of her chair and strode over to the girl at the door. "You aren't asking for anything?"

The girl was taken aback, blinking her eyes behind her miniature oval spectacles. "Oh, no, well…I was hoping to see my play as part of the performance, but I understand if you already have plans…"

"No, it's perfect," Sameko replied. "I mean, we…we already had something interesting in mind, but…" She glanced briefly at the papers, not really reading them. "…This seems to be acceptable. Have you proofread it?"

"Yes, as much as I could…"

"Perfect." Sameko smiled, took the manuscript and smoothed the numerous folds engraved in the parchment out on her skirt. "If you don't mind, I think we will make use of this."

"Really?" The girl's eyes widened with joy. "Oh, thank you, thank you – you don't know how much this means to me!"

"You don't know what this means to us, either," Tarao murmured under his breath.

"Um…if you wouldn't mind, would it be all right if I stopped by the ballet classes to…have a look at how they're rehearsing?"

"You may do whatever you wish." Sameko was busy thumbing through the pages, counting lines silently.

"You're a real lifesaver, whoever you are!" Maguromi chimed cheerfully.

At this, Sameko glared at Maguromi for the implied admission of dilemma, and Maguromi, not so concerned with appearances, stared back at her incredulously.

"Do you know where the ballet dancers rehearse?" Tarao asked the girl at the door faintly.

"Oh, yes, I do know where they rehearse, but thank you. Oh, thank you so much!" After a quick bow, she turned around and exited skipping, delighted at her successful venture.

o-o-o-o-o

As he supervised Trutho's practice sessions, Fakir found himself ruminating what Ahiru had discussed with him as they had stood in the outdoor arched hallway the previous noontime.

_Fakir pondered for a moment and murmured back, trying to understand, "So, you're saying that the guy who cut class the other day went and yanked something out of a girl who was acting funny?"_

"_Not just funny," Ahiru replied, frowning, "she was acting like she had to be alone, she couldn't stand being around people. And the thing that he pulled out – I couldn't see it clearly, but everything about it reminded me of the heart shards I collected for Mytho before."_

"_It definitely can't be Mytho's," Fakir grimaced. "It'd_better_not be."_

"_It didn't feel like it was Mytho's," Ahiru agreed. "But if they are heart shards, whose could they be, and how did that person's heart get shattered in the first place?"_

_"First and foremost, don't get mixed up in it unless we know what's going on," Fakir warned. "Obviously, this Caras doesn't announce himself. We don't know what his intentions are, so for all we know he wants to hurt you next."_

_Ahiru's brows furrowed with perplexity. "Then how are we going to find out what's going on?"_

Fakir grimaced. It was just like Ahiru to be poking her nose – or beak – into what didn't concern her. He'd also like to find out more about the situation, but not at the risk of their safety, especially Ahiru's. If anyone should be investigating, it should be him. But, Fakir had no idea where to start. What was he going to do, stalk him? With that Caras's reclusiveness, it'd be more likely Caras would be spying on them.

"Hey! Fakir! Are you still with me?"

Fakir snapped out of his recollections with a blink. "…What?"

"Um, about that arab-esck thing…" He stretched his left arm and leg out in haphazard directions that looked like a freeze frame of him dodging poison darts. "I…think I'm doing it wrong."

Stunned, Fakir could only shake his head in disbelief.

He took a breath, pushing the other thoughts out of his mind and walked over to Trutho. "First off, your left arm should _not_ be crossed over like that, that's where your right arm goes. Then, your foot shouldn't be flexed like…"

As Fakir was explaining and fixing Trutho's positions, suddenly the door opened loudly.

"Wha—!" Caught by surprise, Trutho lost what balance he had standing on one foot and teetered over like a leaning statue. Impulsively, Fakir's hand shot out, catching Trutho by his back. Unfortunately, Fakir's other hand that was adjusting Trutho's positions still was between Trutho's feet, so as Trutho's feet slipped, it pulled Fakir's other hand with them, causing Fakir's head to be shoved uncomfortably into Trutho's stomach.

"Relax, it's me." Rue walked quietly into the room and closed the door carefully. She froze in her tracks. "…What in the world are you two doing?"

"Gyaaarrgh! That was _my_fault! Don't blame him!" Trutho struggled in vain to release himself until Fakir simply let go, letting him drop onto the floor thereby freeing them both, after which Trutho got right back up and continued, "I was practicing, and he was fixing it, and then you came in, and I was surprised and…" He attempted to use his fingers to illustrate what had happened, but got mixed up in the middle and weaved his fingers into a tangle.

Fakir stood up and asked, "You're a little late. Did something happen?"

"I had been waiting for the script to come in for the apprentice class's little performance, but if I had waited any longer, I would've been even later. Besides, I'm pretty sure they have that all arranged already, so checking it with me is just supposed to be a formality. I can get to it after I'm done here."

"See, Rue-san?" Trutho pointed at his eyes proudly. "I remembered to put the powder on today. And you didn't even have to remind me!"

Rue raised her eyebrows and then accepted the statement calmly. "Oh, that's good."

Fakir put his hand to his forehead and shook his head. "Ahiru wanted to drop by, but since she has class right now, I suppose we'll just see her later."

Rue paused. "Class?" She looked at him. "So, Ahiru _is_ back to being a human after all? Then, why did she come to the gala as a duck? Was there something going on…?"

"It's more like, um…" Fakir grimaced. "That's only happened…recently."

Trutho's eyes flitted from Rue to Fakir curiously.

"Recently?" Rue blinked at him. She opened her mouth, about to say something else, but then she changed her mind. "Well, then, I suppose we'll see what we can do while her class is going on."

The tone of Rue's voice annoyed Fakir, but he let it pass.

o-o-o-o-o

"Sorry that I'm late!" Ahiru said with a hasty bow. Behind her, Sagi walked in, and observing Ahiru's actions, mimicked them with a similar apology.

"Late, are you?" A young man with small eyes and light brown hair frowned at her. "You know, I could give you a detention for that!"

Ahiru started with a nervous sweatdrop. "E-eh?!" _Is this person a new teacher?_

A page entered the room with several sheets of frayed parchment. He approached the teacher and said, "You're the instructor of the apprentice class, right? These are for you."

"Is this the script? Well, well, well." He took them and thanked the page briefly before the page left. "They actually have an original script specially for the apprentice class? I wonder how much time they actually spend on it." He gazed at the parchment with interest, Ahiru and Sagi's tardiness apparently gone from his mind.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called.

Ahiru glanced up and saw Myra waving with her friends, beckoning Ahiru towards them. Ahiru waved cheerfully back, and scuttled over as Sagi followed behind, puzzled.

"Myra-chan!" Ahiru greeted. "I didn't know you were in the apprentice class!"

"I didn't know you were either," Myra replied. "You're new, huh? I can't thank you enough for the other day."

"Oh, uh, don't mention it!" Ahiru responded disconcertedly.

Sagi glanced from Myra to Ahiru, tilted her head as if puzzling out something, and then continued watching them.

They introduced themselves, and Ahiru introduced herself and Sagi, just as the teacher got back all of his senses and resumed class. With a sniff, he flipped the heavily folded leafs of parchment in his fingers and returned to the center of the dance floor to make his announcement.

"Okay, so…finally we're going to do that performance…exhibition…thing," he began with disgruntlement.

Lin leaned over and whispered to Ahiru, "Just so you know, this guy has no idea how to teach anything."

"Eh?" Ahiru blinked. "But isn't he the teach…?"

"Lester-senpai's just yet another substitute," Teresa explained. "Really, he's just an upperclassman they pulled from the advanced class to baby-sit us. He's barely been here a few weeks."

"It's an unofficial rule that this class has no permanent teacher. No, Yagiko-sensei doesn't exactly count," Myra added, seeing Ahiru about to say something.

"She seriously avoids teaching this class if she can help it," Lin remarked. "It might be because this is the boring and annoying apprentice class or something, but I think the real reason is…"

She indicated the expressive male student that was currently offering the less-than-thrilled instructor his extravagant comments.

Ahiru froze in recognition. "That isn't…F-Femio…?"

"The one and only," Myra sighed, shaking her head.

"If there is a part of a dashing knight, or perhaps a heroic prince, to play, then let me inform you that I am of exquisite appropriateness for the role!" Femio proclaimed, stepping forward with one hand on his chest and the other dramatically poised high in the air. His butler Montand sprinkled Femio's notorious red rose petals about the air indulgently.

"HEY! Get your flowery butler out of the practice room!" Lester shrieked. "This is not a beauty pageant, for crying out loud!"

The instructor huffed as the butler crept gingerly off the dance floor back outside. "Damn," he muttered under his breath, "I kicked this brat out of class the first day I was here and each time he _keeps coming back._" He massaged his sinuses anxiously. "He's like some kind of human boomerang…"

Ahiru looked upon the scene nonplussed. _At least Montand does a good job of cleaning up the petals after Femio's done…_

Lester cleared his throat. "All right. While I take a look at this script, you all just…oh, just stretch out." He looked down at the sheets. "Afterwards, we'll…see who's fit for which part. Or something."

The class groaned. Halfheartedly, they dispersed around the room and began stretching.

As Lester paced around, reading leisurely through the script, he scowled and grew irritated. "This script stinks like rotten fish," he mumbled, flipping the pages scornfully. "The characters are dumb, the plot is trite, and that _dialogue!_Horrors! Who in the world wrote this piece of garbage?"

Ahiru sighed glumly. _I'm pretty sure I'll get the smallest part that's there…if I get a part at all…_ She looked up at the ceiling towards the observation balcony.

Ahiru then noticed that a girl had been leaning over the balcony rim, studying the class attentively. She wore small oval spectacles and had short, brown hair that curled towards both sides of her face.

The girl sensed Ahiru's gaze, and although shying away at first, returned with a tiny wave.

Ahiru waved back just as Femio thrust out another vociferous statement in front of the class. "Oh, you must know how much I adore the stage! It is my eternal lover, a blushing maiden to whom I am insuppressibly allured! Please, do not separate my love and me! For I—"

"_For heaven's sake, just shut up so I can read this in peace!_" Lester bellowed. "That's it! You, lover boy, get out of my sight! And stay out of it, for once!"

Ahiru, watching the girl on the balcony, suddenly noticed her put up a finger, as if to say wait a moment, and hasten away. "Huh?"

As Femio promenaded gaily out the door, the girl from the balcony hurried into the room, trying her best to keep unobtrusive as the other apprentice dancers glanced at the girl with puzzlement. Luckily, Lester didn't seem to notice; he was facing the other way, and was distracted and upset enough about the script that he was reading, not to mention Femio's garish antics.

She glanced at Ahiru and waved again as if in confirmation. Ahiru, taken aback, blinked in reply. The girl walked over to Ahiru surreptitiously, and then knelt next to her. Seeing Lester, she timidly angled herself out of his view before turning to Ahiru. "Umm…hi!"

"H-hello…" Ahiru answered.

"Sorry, I'm disrupting your class, aren't I?" the girl said nervously. "It's just that, I really had to talk to someone here…"

"Er, I guess it is in the middle of class, but…" Ahiru glanced over at the teacher, still muttering to himself about the script. "We're not really doing anything right now, so…"

Ahiru looked up at the girl with bafflement. "But what do would you want to talk about with an apprentice dancing student?" Ahiru blushed. "And at that, me…"

"Well, you see, um…" She paused a moment. "It's nothing really, it's just…I wanted to ask one of you performers what you thought, and you seemed…like a good person to ask."

"What I thought?" Ahiru blinked. "About what?"

"A…about the ballet," the girl replied. "Well, actually, the script, I suppose. You know, it's because, you see, I'm the one who wrote it, and…"

"Whoa, really?" Ahiru exclaimed, standing up. "You're the one who wrote it?"

"Hey, I said be quiet!" Lester yelled.

"Qua—" Ahiru muffled her outburst just in time.

"What, wait a second…what was that you said? Did you just say you know the person who wrote this or something?"

"No, of course not!" Ahiru said hastily. She was pretty certain that, with all of his grumbling about the script quality, he wouldn't exactly be thrilled to discover that the author was within his vicinity.

She scuttled the brunette out towards the door. "You know what? I need to go to the bathroom! Be right back…!" They disappeared out the door.

o-o-o-o-o

After managing to get them both outside, Ahiru and the brunette stood in the hallway of arched columns that connected the dance building to the other classrooms. "Boy, that was a close one!" Ahiru heaved a sigh.

The brunette sighed. "I suppose the dance instructor didn't really like it, did he?"

Ahiru winced. "So you heard him?" She grimaced reproachfully. "I don't think he has the right to go badmouthing your script so much. And even worse, that he thinks he can spend our class time griping about it."

"Oh well. I suppose…not everyone can like a story…even though I wish they would…so much…" she murmured faintly, her head drooping down. Her eyes went under shadow, making the tint of her eyes seem to change.

Ahiru gazed at her concernedly, and then realized, "Oh, wait, I never caught your name! What's your name? Um," Ahiru stuttered, trying to start things off, "I'm Ahiru. Yeah, and I suppose I'm sort of like a duck, too, in a lot of ways…"

The girl raised her head back up to look at Ahiru, a small hopeful shine now in her eyes. "Ahiru…huh…?" She smiled hesitantly. "I…I'm Helmina. Helmina von Chezy, that is. Um…would you…like to talk with me for a little bit?"

Ahiru blinked. "What? You want me to talk with you?" She scratched her head. "Sure, but I'm not sure why me…"

"Oh, it's just…" Helmina trailed off. _You seemed like the nicest person there…_

Helmina took a few steps then hesitated, and Ahiru, seeing that she was meaning to walk and talk, trotted a few steps to catch up to her and they started off together towards the campus sideyard.

o-o-o-o-o

"So, Helmina-chan," Ahiru began as they sat in the shade of the gazebo, "what did you want to talk about? Something in particular? Is it about the script?"

"Oh! Well, it was, you see…" She paused. "Um, I suppose I…just wanted an opinion. I mean…"

"Actually, I haven't read it yet," Ahiru replied with a bashful smile. "The first time I even knew there was a script was when the teacher was reading it…and he seemed pretty absorbed in it…"

"Oh! Well, if you just haven't looked at it, then…" Helmina's hands rummaged across her dress, and after several moments she drew out a few wrinkled, slightly torn pieces of parchment with smeared ink on it. "Oh, good, I have one of my spares with me…"

She unwrinkled the papers, rearranged their order, and then, holding them out to Ahiru, asked with imploring, reddish-brown eyes, "…Um…would you read it? And then tell me…what you think… please?"

Ahiru blinked. "Er…a-all right, then, sure…"

When Ahiru's eyes came to the bottom of the last page, Helmina leaned forward and asked quietly, "…What did you think of it?"

"What I thought of it? Well, it's good! …I, uh, guess," Ahiru grinned hesitantly.

Helmina blinked, a half-grin tentatively growing on her face before it slumped down into a neutral somberness.

"I mean – you know," Ahiru struggled to say something positive, "I thought that having the prince meet the hunters and shepherds in the forest was kinda interesting…and it was suspenseful, with the prince reaching the princess just before she was about to be married to that sorcerer…"

Helmina pursed her lips and her head drooped. "No, it's all right…I just…wanted to know if…well, it just means that I can't…but…"

Ahiru looked at her and thought hard for a moment. "So, uh…you like writing a lot, huh?" She winced to herself. _Oh, that's obvious, she wrote the script for our class!_

"Writing? Oh yes," Helmina replied, her head perking up and nodding earnestly, "I do. I love writing. You see," she raised her hands up to gesticulate whimsically, seeming to rejuvenate herself as she continued, "what I want the most is to be able to create stories that will make people feel…inspired, as if they've gone to another world," she uttered ardently. Helmina was standing now and extending her hands to invisible images that as of now only Helmina could see, but Ahiru could begin to perceive. "I want to show them people that they've never met before…places they've never been…things that have never happened before!" Her warm brown eyes sparkled.

Ahiru gazed up at Helmina with bright eyes. "Wow. It's really amazing that you want to create such wonderful stories for everyone!"

"Ah, well," Helmina looked down bashfully again, "it's also that…it's the most magnificent feeling that I know of. I love it when I get that feeling from the stories of others. I just hoped to make something that will give others what I've gotten from them, and the inspiration will keep going around, so hopefully…I'll see even more inspiring things from others, and I'll be a part of it."

"But that's still amazing!" Ahiru exclaimed, standing up with her fists to her chest. "I don't know if I could ever try to do something like that. I'm lucky enough if I can get somebody else's dance steps right, much less make up my own."

"I can't even dance, though. I'm sure you could do a lot better than me in that category," Helmina giggled. "Even if you're in the apprentice class!"

Her eyes fell again. "But you know, I don't know if anyone likes what I write. I really want everyone to like them. I really do…so much. I've been trying to write what everybody would like, but it doesn't seem to be working…"

Ahiru frowned worriedly. "Does that mean that what you've written was what other people—"

Helmina's brows furrowed and she shook her head, as if to shake something off. "Oh, never mind my babbling. I'm dreadfully sorry…I'm keeping you from class now, aren't I?"

Ahiru started. "Ahh! Yeah, I gotta get back to class! I hope he hasn't noticed I was gone!" Before she sped off, she yelled, "It was nice talking to you, sorry I couldn't stay!"

Helmina watched her go, and then sighed and turned towards the library. "I'll see if I can find some inspiration for my next piece, then…"

o-o-o-o-o

"Erm, I-I'm back!" Ahiru exclaimed with a hasty bob of her head. "I was, uh…escorting Helmina-chan off to…"

She trailed off as she noticed that Yagiko-sensei was arguing with Lester and were too occupied to notice her at the moment. She looked around the empty studio. _Where is everybody?_

"I really don't know where they disappeared off to," Lester grumbled with annoyance. "They should have stayed in class, anyway…kids these days have no discipline."

"Look," Yagiko-sensei said, her brows furrowing, "When I was out on campus, I noticed that there were several students walking about. It wasn't time for class to let out, so I asked one of them what they were doing out here. And they told me that you weren't teaching the class, that you were just sitting here reading something."

"It wasn't just anything, it was the script for the apprentice class's exhibition!" he replied. "I mean, read it! This isn't fit to perform."

"That isn't the point," Yagiko said. "Your focus should be on the students, and not on judging this script. That's no excuse for not teaching them—"

"Honestly, though, what do you expect me to do, Yagiko-sensei?" Lester retorted. "I kind of got dumped in this class just to look after them, or something. What am I supposed to do, make up some random moves for their performance?"

Yagiko blinked. "Wait…isn't that already taken care of?"

"Hardly! I'm telling you," Lester reiterated, holding the papers out to her, "I just found the script out today. Now, I don't know if there was somebody before me that had some generic choreography that would go with anything on paper, but I definitely didn't hear about it."

Yagiko blinked and took the papers in silence. She read them for a few moments. Her brows furrowing, she headed for the doors. "I'm going to go and see what's going on here. And as of tomorrow you will no longer be teaching this class."

"No need for that, I quit. I've been waiting for a chance to quit for quite some time." He stood up off his stool and walked towards the men's changing room. "I shouldn't be here anyway. This class needs a real teacher if it's going to be a class at all."

Before he left, he noticed Ahiru staring. He looked at her with puzzlement. "How ironic. One of the new girls is the last one here." He turned and went out the door. "Class is out for today, underclassman. Go back to your room. Dunno who'll be here the next class." He paused and looked back at her. "…But show up anyway, you never know. Miracles happen."

Ahiru blinked. _Whoa…is the apprentice class really in this bad of a shape?_

o-o-o-o-o

As Sagi wandered around campus after she and the others in the class had left while the substitute was busy with his evaluation, she found herself heading for the library, which even at this time of day had several crows loitering around the roof. She remembered she wanted to return the book on fish she had borrowed the other time – she had finished the parts she was interested in – and wanted to try another book. The wealth of collected knowledge humans had available to them was one thing she could appreciate. Perhaps she could find more books about fish, the shallows that they swam in, or any other handy techniques for catching them.

As she perused the bookshelves, she suddenly remembered the book that Ahiru had mentioned before regarding the Prince's brother's origins, and she wanted to take a look at it. She couldn't seem to remember the title, though – what was it? Something-Raven. Oh well.

After she had picked out a book about waterfowl (she was curious about humans' perspective of birds like her), she sat down at a table and opened the book to the title page.

However, before she could read on she noticed that the black haired boy from the fountain – Caras, wasn't he called? – was sitting a few tables down across from her, a book open on the table that he apparently was only pretending to read.

She traced his furtive glances towards a bespectacled brunette who was gazing up longingly at the leather-bound books on the shelf in front of her, which looked to be part of the fiction section. She recognized her as the same one that Ahiru had left with earlier that day.

She looked back at Caras and he ostensibly lost interest in the girl, as he no longer looked at her and was running his eyes along the lines of the book he held.

She glanced back down at her book and then noticed that her blue brooch had acquired a black tint similar to that she had observed the other day. She heard someone get out of his seat and saw Caras approaching the girl at the shelves.

"Is there something the matter?" Caras asked, stopping next to the brunette.

"No, it's nothing…" the girl mumbled. "I'm just…looking at these."

"Do you know what you're looking for?" He picked out a book and held it out to her. "Why not try this one, if you can't decide?"

"No, no, it's not like that. I was just thinking…never mind," she said, turning away from the shelf hastily. "I just wanted to…never mind."

"No, tell me," Caras walked over so his face was inches away from hers and he smiled. "What is it that is troubling you?"

Her eyes looked towards him hesitantly. A glance at them and Caras smiled again. It was confirmed. He found what he had been looking for.

As Caras and the girl stood talking quietly (enough so that their conversation was inaudible from Sagi's seat), Sagi put a few things together in her mind. The defensive girl in the studio; the pendant temporarily darkening; Ahiru's sudden departure and despondent return; Caras at the fountain the other morning. And now, this girl and Caras, and the pendant's shadowing again. Even compiled, it still didn't make much sense, but the connections were there. When she saw that the two were leaving together, she watched them leave and then followed them as inscrutably as she could manage.

She reached the doorway, walked out a few steps, and saw them walking towards the academy gates. At this point she realized that if she were to continue, she would risk being spotted, as the campus grounds was fairly empty.

Sagi took a breath, and was about to exhale when the air in her windpipe caught and came out a strange way, causing her to blurt out a hoarse 'frahnk'.

She covered her mouth with puzzlement and suddenly there was a gleam of blue light in which she vanished, reappearing as a great blue heron.

More perplexed than ever, she was about to try to figure out if there was a way to transform herself back when she realized an advantage of her current form and decided she could solve the human form problem later.

She glanced back at the gates where the pair was leaving, gathered her uniform and draped it over her neck, and took off into the air towards them.

o-o-o-o-o

"It's a bit unsettling," Mytho said with a frown, taking a sip from his mug, "this town."

"Yes," Komaro replied. "Although, nothing out of the ordinary has happened since we've gotten here."

"That's just it." Mytho glanced around the tavern, where the other patrons sat and drank in an eerie silence. He surreptitiously adjusted his brown wig by pretending to be fiddling with his feathered hat. "It's not that I want something bad to happen, but something feels wrong. It's as if too _little_is happening. It's as if…" He struggled to come up with words, but got caught on his thoughts for a moment. Mytho bit his lip. "It's a silence, strained and grim."

Komaro looked thoughtful. He glanced around the room and eyed an armored Ginkan knight, judging from his red-and-silver crest, settled in the corner. The way he slumped in his chair made him appear to be laid back, but Komaro saw his sharp, wary eyes scroll across the room periodically, and his ears positioned strategically to catch any suspect conversations.

Mytho's eyes followed Komaro's, and Mytho's brows furrowed puzzledly at the soldier. After a moment's consideration he lowered his voice. "I'm recalling back to the letters I received from Ginkan not too long ago. They weighed so heavily on my mind, although there were really not that many of them. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, but…I hadn't received one from the Ginkan City Council itself." He exhaled, glancing once more at the knight with the Ginkan crest on his armor. "However, I'm not sure what that means…"

"Well, either way the crows are what we're here to deal with," Komaro affirmed, attempting to focus their thoughts on their goal.

"We've been seeing plenty of them around, no doubt about that," Mytho murmured. "They've never actually done anything extreme, and although there were some tense moments, no actual attacks to speak of." He frowned. "Which should be good. Yet it feels…" His eyes narrowed.

They left the tavern to another dreary morning in Ginkan. One evident difference between the two towns was that Ginkan lacked the energy and cheer of Kinkan. He already had felt that lack upon arriving, but he had noticed these last few days that the only people that seemed happy to a reasonable extent were the nobility, the officials, the higher-status clergy and some innkeepers, and the richer ones at that. Even they didn't look entirely content; in fact, some of them had a sort of chronic anxious smile on their faces. Most of the common people weren't so much nervous, as resigned or wary.

"It always looks like it's about to rain here," Mytho grimaced, "if a storm isn't about to hit."

"Although storms cause messes sometimes, rain by itself doesn't bother me that much," Komaro replied. "I rather like rain. But not to worry, your Lordship, I've brought umbrellas should the occasion arise." He touched the small sack that was on the back of his steed.

As the prince and his chamberlain rode through the melancholy streets, they gazed upon the bare trees that lined the avenues.

"It's mid autumn now," Mytho stated, "so it seems odd that already the leaves are nowhere to be seen."

"To tell you the truth, I haven't been here very often, and not so much recently, but you know…Ginkan was known for its spectacular autumn displays of its trees. I've seen them once, and…"

He looked up at the bare trees. "The symbol colors of this town are silver and red, a complement for Kinkan's gold and blue, one might notice. The red was symbolic of the trees and the town's pride in them. And I loved the reds I saw of them then." He sighed. "Shame they aren't here this year."

Mytho gazed thoughtfully at him.

Noticing him looking, Komaro shook his head impatiently. "You're right, we have more important things to think of. Since we don't have many leads yet, where do you think we should-"

Abruptly, Mytho's horse whinnied. He looked ahead and gasped. A horde of crows was swarming around the corner ahead of them, cawing chaotically. They could hear someone crying out from its midst.

Mytho yanked his reins, and his stallion reared up, prepping for a gallop. "Hurry, Komaro, we must help!"

As the prince sped forward, he unsheathed his swan hilted blade.

o-o-o-o-o

Ahiru wandered around town. She hadn't seen Sagi around school, so she decided to look around and see if she had gone out somewhere, and in the meanwhile take a break to organize her thoughts.

As she walked, a young man with black hair and a shorter cloaked figure walked by. The one with the ponytail blinked. "Ahiru? What are you doing here?"

Recognizing them, she started. "Ahh! Fakir! Trutho!" She lowered her voice. "What am _I_ doing here? What about you two? Er, is it a good idea to be out? Is Rue with you?"

"Rue has to go straighten out something with the apprentice class," Fakir explained, "and she didn't want Trutho in the way."

Trutho shrugged with a resigned frown. "It's not as if I like being called a nuisance, but I guess that's just how it is, since I don't know what goes on here, so I wouldn't be of much help anyway." He stretched. "'Sides, I feel cooped up in that castle all of the time, I wanted to step out and take a walk in any case. A prince is supposed to be able to do that, isn't he?" He fingered his cloak hood that was over his head. "Nobody around will know, anyhow."

"Rue asked me to go along with him, thinking he'd need some supervision," Fakir added. "I agreed with that." Trutho glared at him.

"Ah, former students of mine! Except for one of them, perhaps…"

The trio's heads turned to the voice. Their eyes widened in surprise. "Neko-sensei?" Ahiru and Fakir said in disbelief.

The gray cat preened for a moment, rubbing a white paw against its face. "You may call me Neko-san now, as I am no longer your teacher."

Trutho turned to Ahiru. "You know this cat?"

Ahiru nodded. "From a long while ago…He was our ballet instructor once. No one seems to remember, though, after…"

Trutho's brows furrowed puzzledly. "And you can understand him?" He looked towards Fakir. "Can you understand him, too?"

Fakir grimaced and shook his head. "I only hear meows. I can't understand animal-speak." He remembered the days with a strictly duck-form Ahiru. "As much as I would like to."

Trutho glanced thoughtfully at Ahiru.

Some other mews sounded nearby, and Neko-san's head turned towards them. "Ah! Here they are!" A white cat and three kittens came into view.

"These are my darling kittens, sweeter and more lovable than any other creatures," Neko-san crooned, nuzzling each of the tiny young cats. "Here are Figaro, Susanna, Cherubino. And here are Bartolo, Marcellina, and Basilio. Say salutations, my little dears."

With varying degrees of enthusiasm, the kittens mewed greetings, with Bartolo, Basilio, Figaro and Cherubino bobbing their heads in bows, and Susanna and Marcellina daintily bending their front legs in curtsies.

Neko-san's eyes glimmered. "And…behold!"

A sleek, stately white feline stood and strode towards Neko-san's side. Her jade-hued eyes glanced at him coyly. Neko-san's head turned towards her, his yellow eyes rapturous. The three could almost hear wedding music begin to swell in the background.

"My beautiful, graceful, and exquisite wife; Rosina!" Neko-san exclaimed, brimming with pride as they struck a marvelous pose, their ambiance glittering and sparkling glamorously. "The epitome of perfection!"

"Er…wow," the three stood stunned.

"You there," Neko-san said suddenly, gazing upon Trutho, "you are not Mytho-san, are you?"

Trutho started. "Er…what do you mean? Of course I'm…"

Neko-san's eyes narrowed. "Mytho-san wouldn't be able to understand me, either."

"Ack…"

"Oh, that's okay, Trutho, we can let Neko-sensei know," Ahiru said. "But how could you tell, Neko-sensei? …Er, Neko-san?"

"His very demeanor gives it away," Neko-san replied. "His movements and way of holding himself are entirely opposite of the Mytho-san that I knew. Might I ask where Mytho-san has gone, and who this one is?"

"So, you see," Ahiru bent over in a whisper and explained.

"I see." He studied Trutho, and then Ahiru. He sat and twitched his tail. "Well then, I may be dropping by every so often to see how you students are doing."

"…What's he saying?" Fakir muttered to Ahiru.

"Er, he might be stopping by sometime later," she replied.

"…"

After the pleasantries were over and Neko-san and his family had bid them farewell, the three strolled around town and conversed.

"So, Ahiru, what are you doing out of class?" Fakir asked.

Ahiru frowned. "There isn't a class right now, since they just fired the teacher."

"They fired the teacher?" Fakir asked with bemusement. "Who was he?"

"His name was Lester-senpai," Ahiru thought. "I heard he was from the advanced class, but I'm not sure…apparently he had been our substitute for a little while."

"Hmm, so that's what he was mumbling about the other day," Fakir recalled. "He attends my class normally. No wonder he was upset."

Ahiru glowered. "Hey, are you trying to say something?"

"No, of course not. Why would I?"

"Hey, uh, Fakir…" Trutho reached into his cloak pocket, and pulled out a leather-bound book with a black-feathered creature on the cover. "I went and borrowed the book I remembered you talking about. _The Prince and the Raven_, wasn't it?"

"Remembered?" he inquired pointedly. "From something I told you?"

"Well, er, um," Trutho stumbled in his words at the revelation of his eavesdropping, but he continued, "anyway, it got me thinking – you say my back story comes from this book. But this sure looks like fiction to me. How can that be? Is it a true story, or a fairy tale?"

Trutho's eyes ran questioningly across the book he held out in front of him. "If Mytho's the prince from this story, then I'm from this book's backstory." His brows furrowed, and he looked towards Fakir with a frown. "Fakir…people just don't jump out of books whenever they feel like it. Stories are works of imagination, make-believe that doesn't exist. But people are real. I'm real. So is Mytho-san."

Fakir stopped for a moment. Trutho looked at him puzzledly.

Fakir replied reflectively, half to himself, "Once, there was a writer named Drosselmeyer whose stories came true in this world. When he died, the last book he had been working on was left unfinished. Locked in eternal combat, the raven grew tired of the fight and flew out of the story, with the prince chasing after it. The prince split apart his heart to seal it away. And then…" He paused.

"But wait, who's writing the story? Isn't the writer supposed to be dead?"

"He is dead. But, somehow, he was able to write, even then," he murmured darkly. "The line between fantasy and reality vanished. The Prince that everyone had read about had come to life. But so had the Raven. So story became reality. Reality turned into a story. No one could tell the difference between the two."

"I notice you're using past tense. What happened to stop it?"

"We managed to destroy the machine that Drosselmeyer used to control the town ever since he had died. So his story is over now. Who knows what happened to Drosselmeyer after that. He's probably gone, and if so, good riddance."

In the other dimension, Drosselmeyer chuckled uncontrollably. "Oh, the irony, the delightful dramatic irony!"

Fakir felt a strange shiver when he had said those last few words.

"But quite obviously, the characters didn't disappear with the story," Trutho pressed on. "Mytho-san's still here, and I am, too. If we're storybook characters, then where's the story? If there is no story, then we aren't characters anymore, are we? So then, we must be real," the last word came out staunchly from his lips. "_I'm_ real."

Fakir glanced back at him severely. "Of course you're real," he said with a vehemence that startled even Fakir himself. He paused and said more softly, "Mytho is real." He grasped Trutho's left shoulder firmly as if to establish that Trutho was there. "You're both real. Where you two came from does nothing to change that."

Fakir continued walking, but Trutho's head was spinning with questions, and doubts. All the meanwhile a vague aching crept into his head every so often that made it somewhat difficult for him to contemplate what he had heard. But he managed to fish out a question from that inner muddle, and fearing it would slip away from him, blurted it out as soon as he could put the words together.

"Did the prince and the raven come out of the story when the writer told them to? Or did they escape on their own?"

Fakir said nothing. He looked back at Trutho. "I really don't know."

o-o-o-o-o

Drosselmeyer nodded with a grin as he swung back and forth in his rocking chair. "Yes, that's right, Pauper, you are from a story, even if you were only in it for a trifling part. But this kind of conversation could be dangerous, so why don't we steer this off towards more suitable thoughts of the past? More suitably tragic, of course," he chortled.

o-o-o-o-o

As Trutho caught up to Fakir, he was trying to recall anything he could in the farthest reaches of his memories that could give him clues about the time that he supposedly was in a story. Mostly, he would come up completely blank, but anytime he thought he might come up with something that familiar pain would return, and the grasp he possibly had would disappear once again. He found himself coming to the earliest memories that he was able to recall.

A face swam in and out of the erratic inner images: a young, troubled face, looking down at him. He vaguely remembered lying in bed for a long time.

The clearest memory that he could recall readily from the earliest realms of his memory was of a talk with his foster sister, or mother, or aunt—whatever she wanted to call herself at the time. She had looked barely older than he looked then. They had been sitting on the banks of an aqueduct near a band of decorated wagons that she and the other gypsies lived in.

"_Emma-san?"_

_The girl with frizzy, shoulder-length black hair looked at him. "How many times do I need to tell you, call me Emma-neechan! I'm your big sister now, after all."_

"_Okay, okay. But 'Emma-neechan' is…a bit much. How about Emma-neesan?"_

"_All right, that's better," she grinned. "Okay, what is it, Trutho?"_

_He glanced out across the water. "Why don't I remember what happened to me?"_

_She sighed, gazing up at the sky. "…I don't know."_

"_You guys found me in the forest, right? I don't remember being out there. What was I doing? Was I okay, or hurt, or what happened?"_

"_You…weren't okay," she replied slowly. "You were really sick. We had to take you in, otherwise you would've…well, you wouldn't have been as well as you are now, that's for sure."_

"_I guess that makes sense, if I had been lost out there for a long time."_

_They sat silently for some moments._

"_How…how much have I forgotten?" Trutho asked with some hesitation._

"_How much?" Emma grinned awkwardly. "Well, we only know from when we found you, so nobody really knows just how much you've—"_

"_I mean…" He looked at her. "How long have I been around…with you guys?"_

_She blinked. "Er…not that long, I suppose…"_

"_So…so that means I haven't forgotten anything about this troupe?" he asked with trepidation. "About you?"_

"_No," she answered, shaking her head. "We've only known each other for a few weeks. And you were dazed out of your mind for about half that time, so I don't blame you for not remembering anything then."_

_Trutho sighed with relief. "Phew, that's good. I was afraid that I had forgotten so much, and then that would've made you and everyone feel horrible…"_

_She looked at him for a short while. Then, she gave him a big bear hug and said with a grin on her face, "I'm so glad that you're my little brother!"_

_Little brother,_ Trutho repeated the phrase to himself as he continued along. _That was what she called me first. Later on she wanted to be my aunt or mother, but that changed every so often,_ he thought with a grin. _She was always a pretty whimsical spirit, even as she grew older._

His eyes fell. _I'm supposed to be Mytho-san's little brother. Yet I can't remember him at all, even if he can remember me. It's as if that was somebody else, but he can still recognize me as that person. He seemed like such a nice person, but…how can I be his little brother if I don't…?_

Trutho's thoughts were interrupted by Fakir's abrupt exclamation. "Wait a second." He glanced around. "Where's Ahiru?"

"Er…I haven't seen her since she joined us and was talking to you about her class being broken up," Trutho replied sheepishly.

Fakir scowled. "Damn, did that idiot go wandering off again?" He sighed sharply. "We'd better go look for her, otherwise I know she'll get herself into trouble. You stay close and in sight, I don't want to have to find both of you."

"Aye aye, captain," Trutho replied sardonically, rolling his eyes.

Fakir glared at him. Trutho glowered back. Finally, Fakir turned around and started back down the street where he had last seen Ahiru.

Trutho stuck his tongue out at Fakir. "Hah, I win," he taunted before finally falling in step behind Fakir, grinning from ear to ear.

Fakir held a hand over his forehead. _At least back then, Mytho did what I told him…_

o-o-o-o-o

_The Prince and the Raven?_ Ahiru glimpsed the book that Trutho had taken out with some surprise. _I wonder why he got that particular book…_

As she walked on, her hand went to her chin in concentrated thought. _Wait, that time Fakir was telling me about the prologue, Trutho was probably listening, too._ Absorbed in her thoughts, she turned a street corner and didn't notice that she was going farther and farther from the direction Trutho and Fakir were walking.

_And then, we were saying it was about him…he's from the book, like Mytho was. He didn't remember who Mytho was, so what made him forget? I wonder what had happened to him since then?_

Ahiru blinked, snapping out of her thoughts suddenly, and glanced around. "Er, wait a second…" She frowned, not recognizing her surroundings. "Where did Trutho and Fakir go? Oh, great…Let's see, I was walking this way from that direction…"

Ahiru glanced around to get her bearings. She glanced ahead and glimpsed a familiar gap in the buildings. "Hey, wait, that reminds me of…the prodding bridge! You know, I haven't been there in the longest time." _Yeah…that was when I almost threw away being Princess Tutu altogether, unknowingly along with what ended up being a shard of Mytho's heart. I guess I would still be swimming around here if I hadn't seen Mytho fall in and found another heart shard._"Maybe I should go take a look over there for just a second."

Ahiru was walking towards the overpass when she realized that there were dozens of crows lurking around the area. She glimpsed a couple standing on the bridge, talking. Looking closer, she recognized both Helmina and Caras, looking out over the aqueduct.

Immediately a silent alarm went off in her head. She checked her pendant and perceived the darkness reflected in it; this time, it was strong, and deepening. Seeing that neither of the two had spotted her, she snuck over towards the edge of the bridge and hid in the foliage nearby.

Unbeknownst to Ahiru, Sagi had been watching the two as well, from within a willow tree close to the other side of the bridge, and had with puzzlement spotted Ahiru slink into the bushes.

"Lately, I've wanted more than anything for my stories to be loved by everyone," Helmina murmured pensively. "I've always wanted for them to be cherished by others, but ever since…" she winced, "…that, I've felt like I want that adoration, but _desperately_. Like if people wouldn't like what I wrote, it would…torment me to starvation. I want them to love the stories from deep within them! I have to have their approval – no, not just that, their passions!"

Her hands were clutched over her chest, and her eyes, cast downward, flared crimson. "I…must have their very hearts!"

Caras's eyes widened. _It is emerging now._

Realizing herself, Helmina blinked, startled. "I-I really don't know what I meant by that, I just felt like…"

"No," Caras said, drawing her closer to him, "this feeling is real. It is, perhaps, _too_ real…it is so crushing a pain as to be pure agony, isn't it?"

"…Yes, it is. It hurts, so much," Helmina murmured.

Ahiru was in a bind. She was certain that Caras was about to do to Helmina what he had done to Myra, and she wasn't about to sit and watch the benevolent, starry-eyed writer she had met just hours before writhe in pain like Myra had as Caras forcibly removed what foreign fragments were lodged in her heart. But what could she, Ahiru, do about it? Her first impulse was to run out and yell for them to stop, but what would that accomplish? It wouldn't help Helmina, and then she didn't know how Caras would react if she interrupted his efforts. Who was to say he wasn't doing the right thing? Fakir had told her to stay out of it. Yet here she was, in the midst of the situation; could she just walk away from it? _What should I do?_

o-o-o-o-o

_Clank._ A toothed gear framed Ahiru's distressed expression.

"Oh, this is absolutely delightful! Our little duck is torn between two equally futile actions – to watch as an innocent one suffers, or to senselessly involve herself in the conflict! Perhaps it is time for someone who may be able to alleviate the situation to appear once again…"

Drosselmeyer furtively peered towards his right side. Standing next to him was Uzura, who was straining to peer over the desk that Drosselmeyer was writing on. The duck feather she clutched was loose in her hand. Seizing his chance, Drosselmeyer snatched away the quill and began scribbling vigorously. In a sweeping cursive, he scrawled out two words:

_Princess Tutu._


	6. 29 AKT: The Story of Rosamunde :part b:

**Princess Tutu**  
-_Kapitel des Vogel_-  
-鳥の章-  
(Chapter of the Bird)

29. AKT "The Story of Rosamunde"  
~ Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern ~  
(Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus)

- Part 2 -

_Princess Tutu?_ Ahiru thought suddenly. _That's right, if I could become Princess Tutu, then I could do something about this, and help Helmina-chan!_

Ahiru's face fell. _But, I can't become Princess Tutu anymore…can I? The power to become Princess Tutu disappeared when I returned Mytho's last heart piece to him. There couldn't be a way somehow to borrow that power again…?_

o-o-o-o-o

"If there's a will, there's a way, and there will be a way if I can help it." Drosselmeyer chuckled to himself. "Oh, I just couldn't resist. I suppose the persona of the beautiful but inevitably inconsequential princess has grown on me. But after reviving the villain, why not bring back the heroine? It will depend on the Prince of course to bring it about, but if I know my own characters, then he will indeed oblige, and readily at that."

Uzura was beside herself. Because she hadn't paid attention for one second, Drosselmeyer had stolen Ahiru's quill. But there was absolutely no way she was going to let him keep it and eventually make Ahiru, her good friend, go through something awful. Positively no way at all!

"_You give that back-zura!_" Uzura sprang into the air.

WHAM!

Uzura had tackled Drosselmeyer so fiercely the impact knocked him clean off his chair. The yellow feather flew out of his hand.

Drosselmeyer scrambled to get up and stretched out his hand to recover the quill, but it fluttered out of his reach. Uzura snatched it right out of the air and scampered off into the distance amongst the multitude of gears.

"Uzura-chan! Where are you going? Come back here!" Drosselmeyer bellowed. But Uzura was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed, dusted himself off, and returned to his seat, grinning. "Ah, that's quite all right. I was able to suggest Princess Tutu back into the story, which is quite good enough for the moment. Any moment now, we shall see how this twist will alter the course of events…" He chucked gleefully.

o-o-o-o-o

As the crows swarmed violently about them, Komaro hastened over to the noble to get him back on his feet as Mytho in disguise fended off the dark birds to allow their escape.

"Who…who are you? What are you doing?" the paled noble uttered, his eyes still dilated with fear.

"Does this not seem like a rescue?" Komaro responded with veiled impatience. "Come now, we have no time to waste!"

"But you…you aren't…" He paused, panting as if he was short of breath. "…Yes, yes, I must get away…must go…"

Komaro, armed with one of the umbrellas he had packed along, had to whack several ravens away as the aristocrat hesitated. Komaro dismounted his horse, grabbed hold of the man's arm, yanked him up and dragged him away from the center of the throng, with Komaro's brown steed dutifully defending the rear.

Mytho, seeing that the two had gotten moving, rode towards them to cover their exit. Glancing around, he spotted something down a distant avenue that surprised him, but watching it longer, the expression on his face progressed to shock.

Suddenly, from deep within him, he felt a tugging at his heart – and with it a desperate, yet familiar call for help. The view went dark around Mytho, as time itself seemed to pause.

"…Tutu? Is that you? I can feel your anguish…are you in need of my help?" As he held his hand over his chest, the tugging grew more fretful and urgent. Already feeling his consciousness beginning to fade, Mytho glanced towards Komaro, and seeing that the noble had managed to escape and Komaro was unharmed, he relinquished himself to the will that called for him.

Komaro fended off the crows that dove at him as he stood between the assailants and the nobleman. Seeing that the nobleman had ran off and departed, he mounted his horse again and headed for Mytho. But something seemed amiss; Komaro squinted to look closer.

To Komaro's horror, Mytho was slumped over dazedly in his saddle, his sword limp in his hand, and his head drooping stolidly.

"_Mytho!_"Komaro rushed to his side, grabbing on to Mytho with some difficulty as Mytho's white mount began fidgeting with bewilderment at his rider's abrupt unresponsiveness amidst the turmoil.

"Mytho-sama!" Komaro shook Mytho anxiously, frantically searching for signs of consciousness. "Answer me, please! What happened? Are you all right?"

Mytho's eyes opened faintly. "Koma…ro…?" he muttered softly before his eyes slid closed again.

Promptly Komaro lifted Mytho off the horse and placed him on the saddle towards the rear. Gazing warily around at the swooping dark birds, his lips tightened as he realized the situation gave him no choice. His expression grave, Komaro reached for the umbrella tucked behind him and began to draw out something hidden within it.

As he did so, however, he noticed something incredible: the crows, instead of closing in, seemed to be backing away, or at the very least lingering, hesitating; even contemplating?

In the uncanny pause, Komaro spotted a gap in the horde of dark birds, and seizing the opportunity he yanked the reigns of the two horses and, with Komaro grasping Mytho securely behind him, they sped out of the swarm of crows to safety.

o-o-o-o-o

"Something within you is causing you deep, unmitigated suffering," Caras uttered, his fingers poised over the left side of Helmina's chest, "something that does not belong there."

Helmina clenched her hands over her heart. "This engulfing emotion…this unbearable pain…"

"I can purge you of this agony," Caras whispered, "if you would open your heart to me and let me reach into its depths."

"Yes…I will let you look into my heart," Helmina murmured. She lay herself back onto a cradle of raven feathers that grew up from the ground, as if she had fallen asleep onto a dark, downy mattress. Caras approached her.

Ahiru winced. _No! I can't stand and watch any longer! Somehow, right now, I've got to help Helmina-chan!_ Breaking out of her hiding place, Ahiru dashed towards the bridge.

At that instant, the pendant bestowed upon her by the lake gleamed a brilliant crimson light. Ahiru gaped down at it in disbelief. _It couldn't be…!_

The light enclosed her in a glittering golden egg, and she emerged once more as the white-garbed Princess Tutu.

Sighting the ethereal ballerina, Caras halted in his tracks, astounded. "…Princess Tutu? Impossible!"

The concealed Sagi took in the sight with bewilderment. From the direction of the bush Ahiru had hid in, a majestic white swan had flown onto the scene. She was close enough for her to make out the words spoken on the bridge, and being a bird, she could also understand, somehow, the wordless speech of the one Caras called Princess Tutu.

Tutu glanced at herself, as astonished as Caras. "I…I don't know how it happened, but…somehow…"

Taking a resolute breath, she glanced back up at Helmina. She raised her arms into the air, twirled her hands around each other and, smiling, held out a hand to the brunette. "Please come and dance with me, Helmina-san."

Helmina, through glazed eyes, sighted Tutu and rose slightly from the dark cradle she lay upon. "P…Princess Tutu…? The beautiful maiden who fell victim to the fate of a cruel, tragic story?"

She stood up as the black cradle beneath her dissipated. She gazed around at the scenery, which had turned dark like the wings of a stage, and at Princess Tutu, who glowed with an otherworldly luminescence. "It's a story come to life…" Helmina murmured in awe. "I'm inside of a story…and I'm talking to the story's beautiful princess…" She beheld Princess Tutu with a mix of exhilaration, and trepidation.

Caras, scrutinizing the resurrected princess, considered his options. He could attempt to stop Princess Tutu from interfering so that he could carry on with the retrieval of his heart shard. However, by blocking Princess Tutu he would be merely insisting that he do the job personally, and he had to acknowledge that Princess Tutu would be more adept at this task than he would. Thus he withdrew into the background and allowed Princess Tutu to continue her endeavor unimpeded, as he watched and waited.

"Helmina-san," Princess Tutu asked again, "will you dance with me?"

Helmina's eyes widened and she shook her head timidly, shying away. "Oh, no, I couldn't possibly…I'm not worthy to be in the presence of someone as magnificent as you are."

"I would be greatly honored to dance with you, Helmina-san," Tutu, still holding out her hand, stepped towards Helmina welcomingly with a gentle smile.

Helmina paused. Ever so nervously she stepped towards Tutu, and, after a moment's hesitation, took the princess's hand.

As they danced together, Helmina, with every ounce of effort she had, clung to Tutu and tried to mimic her every move. "I fear that I will disgrace you, so I beg of you, tell me what I should be dancing, so that what I dance may be suitable for you."

"I want to see _your_ dance, Helmina-san. I cannot and should not tell or show you what your own special dance is, for that is something that only you can do."

Helmina's expression saddened. "But you would be appalled by my dancing! Just like the stories I tried to create by myself; they're much too strange and senseless for anyone to understand, or love!" She winced, her eyes shining with tears. "I discovered the truth, that day…"

"_Gr-Grimm-san?" Helmina couldn't believe her eyes. The writer whose works that she had adored from childhood was standing in front of her! "It really is you! I am so deeply honored to meet you!"_

_The author looked upon her with indifferent eyes. He had met many such "passionate fans" before, and he had not been impressed with any of them. "Well, then – was it…"_

"_H-Helmina von Chezy," Helmina replied nervously with a smile._

"_Helmina-san," he said, taking a breath, "what is it you want with me?"_

_Helmina reddened lightly, and began fidgeting. "Well, you see…I, um, I wanted to show you a…little thing that I wrote. It's a play called 'Euryanthe'. It's not too long," she added hastily, "and you don't have to read it carefully or anything…just, maybe could you skim it over and tell me…tell me what you think?"_

_The writer paused a moment. He wasn't in a particular rush anywhere, and he couldn't help but be curious. "All right, fine. I'll take a glance at your piece."_

_As Grimm read on, Helmina stood by, her hands clasped together at her chest as if in prayer. She didn't want to stare, but she couldn't help peeking at the author's expression every now and then, trying to catch some hint of his reaction. But he gave away no response._

_Finally he glanced back up. Helmina looked at him hopefully._

_He asked, "How much thought did you put into this?"_

_Blinking, Helmina replied with some puzzlement, "Er, a lot of thought, sir…I've thought about the characters a lot, you know, and tried to make the story exciting and touching, like good stories are supposed to be…"_

_He scowled with disdain. "Well, now it's evident you haven't put your own thought into it at all."_

"_Wh-what do you mean?" Helmina whispered in horror._

_Studying her, he shook his head jadedly, and seeming not to have the energy to elaborate, he handed the sheets back to Helmina, adjusted his hat, and with a terse "Good day" he continued on his way._

_Helmina walked back down the street feeling a raw, gaping emptiness. Her eyes were wilted in despair. She gazed up at the clear blue sky, which now seemed so gray. A crimson raven flashed across her view. She watched it vacantly as it circled above her. Suddenly, it dove straight towards her. She braced herself, covering her face with her arms. But she felt no strike. She glanced up cautiously, but the red bird was nowhere in sight._

It must be my silly imagination again,_Helmina chided herself._I suppose now I know how truly foolish I was, to try to write something as bizarre as that play.

_Stronger than ever before, a renewed desire to create stories that would take people's hearts away arose within her. So strong, she was desperate to learn what people wanted from stories, and to give it to them…_

"Ever since then, beautiful princess, I've tried so hard to give everyone stories that they will love. I've even tried asking everyone what kinds of things they like in stories, and put those in as well. I know that what I think couldn't make a story everyone would enjoy, but even after gathering all the characters and plots, the stories still do not fill people's hearts with passion!" Her eyes filled with tears, and her head turned away. "I must be a horrible writer, if I can't even write a good story this way."

"No, Helmina-san. The reason that they cannot feel the inspiration you seek to give them is that you haven't shown them your true stories. You've tried so hard to give them that feeling, and so afraid that what you created would fail them, that you've hidden away the very imagination that would stir them. I'm certain there are countless wonderful stories that you could tell if you would let yourself tell them. What makes a story wonderful is not what kinds of people or events it has, but how much of your own thoughts and heart you put into it. Dance for me your own dance, Helmina-san. Tell everyone the stories of your own heart."

Helmina stopped. She stood in place, pondering what Tutu had told her. "The stories…of my heart…"

She let go of Tutu's hand, and, hesitantly, raised a hand into the air. "The story of Rosamunde, from my heart…I think it would be different."

She swayed her arms about in the air and pondered aloud, "The princess is kidnapped by the sorcerer, not because of his horrid wickedness, but because he was lonely, and had great hardships connecting with people. He wanted someone to talk to, someone to be a sister to him – but he didn't know how to go out into the world, and was afraid to, because he was always alone."

As Princess Tutu danced with Helmina, who this time was moving on her own, the ballerina noticed that Helmina's new dance was a sprightly, fanciful, yet gentle waltz, as original as it was beautiful to behold.

"And the prince…he went to rescue the princess, not because of his chivalry or of his hearing of her exquisite beauty, but because he was her childhood friend, and he was so worried about her safety. And that makes me think, even if other people have told me so, perhaps they need not be married in the end for them to be truly happy."

Helmina stood in place, her eyes closed, and her hands came together softly in front of her over her chest. "Yes…this is how the stories I loved to create felt like to imagine." A jubilant beam appeared on her face. "I feel like…I want to write again!"

Her chest began to glow. She stepped backwards into the scenery, and from her emerged the crimson raven from her recollections.

As the flapping red bird dissolved into Tutu's hands, Caras stepped back into view.

"So it is a heart shard," Princess Tutu murmured, gazing upon the scarlet stone in her hands.

"And you would recognize them well," Caras remarked. He held out his hand and the shard floated from Princess Tutu's hands to his.

"That shard…" Tutu's expression grew apprehensive. "Could it be…?"

"The feeling of Desire, of course," Caras replied, studying the shard as he held it up to his eyes. "That seemed quite evident from that girl's actions. Surely Solitude was apparent to you as well?"

"That isn't what bothers me…" With a troubled countenance, she asked, "That heart shard...does it belong to the Raven?"

Caras paused and glanced at her. "Well. I suppose you are rather perceptive after all," he said before he gestured with his other arm, and before Tutu could question him further, he disappeared with the shard into a flurry of darkness.

o-o-o-o-o

Mytho lay on his bed of the inn's room, barely awake or responsive. His clothes had been reduced to the white blouse and the pants of the lord's disguise he had been wearing, and the hat and wig lay on the table nearby. Komaro was sitting on a chair by the bedside, scrutinizing Mytho vigilantly.

Suddenly, his chest glowed faintly for a moment, the radiance disappearing before Komaro could observe it closely. Mytho began to stir. His eyes came back into focus, and after a moment he blinked somewhat confusedly but wide-awake.

When Komaro saw that Mytho's eyes had opened, his eyes widened with relief. "Mytho-sama! Thank goodness! You're awake! Are you feeling all right?"

"Y-yes," Mytho replied with some surprise, sitting up with a hand over his heart. "Somewhat disoriented, but quite fine."

"Are you sure about that?" Komaro questioned with concern. "I checked to see if you had any visible wounds to administer to, but I couldn't find anything more than minor scratches. Are you certain that you don't have any internal injuries? I'm no doctor, but if there's anything that feels out of the ordinary—"

"No, it's all right, Komaro," Mytho said, standing up out of bed, "I don't believe I fell unconscious because of an injury."

Komaro blinked bewilderedly. "Then might I ask, what could have caused it, if you know?"

Mytho's brows furrowed in thought. "It's…hard to explain." He glanced out the window, his hand at his chest again. "I suppose the best way to explain it would be…I was aiding a dear friend, but to help them, I had to temporarily lend them something important."

Komaro looked dubious. "That is a bit vague, if I may say so. Who is this dear friend?"

"…Tutu," Mytho murmured thoughtfully, half to himself. "She had to help someone…I wonder what was the matter?"

"Tutu?" Komaro asked, his brows furrowing skeptically. "You had to fall unconscious in the midst of peril to help that du—""

"There's something else more pressing on my mind," Mytho muttered, which made Komaro fall silent immediately.

Mytho turned to Komaro grimly. "When I was battling the ravens, I sighted a unit of Ginkan cavaliers down a distant street. They were a sizable group, enough to have been able to drive away the ravens swiftly with our help."

Komaro blinked. "That's peculiar…perhaps they hadn't seen us from the street they were on, if it was far away…I hadn't even seen them myself…"

"They saw us, all right," Mytho replied darkly. "They sighted the crows, I saw the captain react and give orders – they turned their horses around and trotted away."

Komaro twitched in shock. "What?!"

Mytho shook his head. "I have difficulty believing what I saw as well. But there was no mistake about it: after they had seen us, they left, and deliberately."

Komaro blinked with disconcerted bafflement. "I can't think of any reasonable cause for the knights to retreat," Komaro scowled. "Your Lordship said they were of a sufficient number, plus they were mounted, and the streets were clear so they had no need to double back…"

Mytho reflected for some moments. "But there's something about the way this happened…their pace was too leisurely for them to be running away out of fear…" His brows furrowed. "Rather, as if they were simply following orders?"

Komaro looked at him with unease. "You don't mean to say that…?"

"The corruption may go up further?" Mytho sighed deeply. "I don't know. I hesitate to point fingers at anyone with no proof, especially when it's regarding something this dire."

He glanced towards the capitol headquarters of Ginkan where the Ginkan Town Council convened, at the center of the town. "Again the thought occurs to me – of the letters we received regarding Ginkan's plight, we did not receive any notice from the council itself." His lips tightened. "Now I wonder even more – what _do_ they make of all of this?"

o-o-o-o-o

When Helmina came to, Ahiru was sitting beside her, looking at Helmina with concern. "Are you okay, Helmina-chan?"

Her eyes blinked open. "Oh, Ahiru-san, it's you! How did you find me here?"

"Oh well, I was just, you know, walking around town and I wanted to visit the bridge, and…" Ahiru grinned nervously. "But anyhow, I noticed you were lying here, and I was worried, so I wanted to be sure you were okay…"

Helmina sat up. "Well, I suppose I'm…I'm quite fine. In fact," she stood up heartily, "I feel wonderful! I want to start writing something right away!"

"That's great!" Ahiru replied, smiling. _So I was able to help her after all…I'm glad._

"Although…" Helmina looked thoughtful. "I'm not quite sure where to start…"

"Ahiru! _There_ you are."

Ahiru turned around. "Oh, Fakir! And Tru-er, Mytho!"

"The…the Prince?" Helmina started, curtseying hastily. "Oh, pardon my intrusion, Siegfried-sama…"

Trutho held up his hands in protest. "No, it's okay, you don't have to be so formal… You can just call me 'Mytho'."

Fakir frowned. "Ahiru, next time it wouldn't hurt to at least tell me when you're going off on a detour, I had no idea what happened to you."

"Well, sorry," Ahiru rubbed the back of her neck abashedly. "I was thinking about stuff, and I spaced out, but I kept walking, and…"

"So…what was your name?" Trutho asked, glancing towards Helmina again.

"Oh, Fakir, Mytho, this is Helmina-chan!" Ahiru replied, turning around to introduce her. "I was talking with her earlier, about the script of the ballet that was for our…"

Ahiru trailed off, realizing something. "Hey, wait a second…Fakir, you're a writer!"

He furrowed a brow at her. "Oh, so you've noticed."

"No, no, it's that…Helmina-chan, you said that you needed some help for your writing? Well, this is Fakir, and he writes too, so maybe you can ask him something about it!"

Fakir frowned hesitantly. "I don't know about…"

He glanced at Ahiru, who stared back at him with such an adamant expression that he couldn't even consider declining the request. "All right. What kind of help do you need, Helmina-san?"

"Um…come to think of it," Helmina replied as she began rummaging through her skirt again, "I had asked someone, before, about another piece I wrote…they really found something wrong with it, but they never had told me what. I was wondering if, perhaps, you might be able to tell me what you think might be wrong with it." Helmina, finding the rumpled sheets, gazed at them for a moment, and nodded to herself with quiet resolve. "Then, perhaps I can learn what it is that I can improve for this story, and learn how to write better for other ones."

She held out the parchment to Fakir, and he took them and began to read, with her sitting close by, watching him.

As Ahiru watched Fakir go through the story, she heard a rustle in the willow tree nearby and glimpsed Sagi the heron, after glancing at Ahiru, fly towards the thick bushes on one bank of the river.

"Eh? Sagi-chan?" Ahiru ran over to her.

Trutho noticed Ahiru dash over towards the bird, although he didn't budge from his seat on the bridge's rim across from Fakir and Helmina. Remembering what Fakir and Rue had mentioned before in his earshot, he thought of asking Ahiru something, more for confirmation than anything, but seeing that Ahiru was busy talking to the heron she had called Sagi he decided to bring it up later.

"Hey there, Sagi-chan! What were you doing up in that tree?" Ahiru asked with some puzzlement. "Were you just, uh, deciding to take a little break, or…"

"Um…" Sagi thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Well, firstly, I somehow transformed back to being a bird recently, and I don't know how I'm supposed to fix the problem…"

"Oh, that! Well, that's pretty easy," Ahiru replied, glancing at the tributary flowing beside them. "Wait here for a moment and I'll show you how this is supposed to work…"

Trutho saw Ahiru run from the bushes, collect a handful of water from the river, and carefully tread over back towards the bushes again, trying not to spill it.

He turned and looked back at Fakir, who was now done reading the script, and was discussing parts of it with Helmina.

"…And this part, where the husband discovers that his wife hadn't lied to him after all," Fakir explained, handing her the script and pointing at the part, "I'd really question how she would so easily accept his apologies when he was about to take her out into the woods to kill her based only on circumstantial evidence." He crossed his arms. "If he was someone that was good to her, wouldn't he trust her more than that?"

"Hmm…" Helmina thought. "You have a point…Maybe instead of anger, he'd feel…sadness. An excruciating sorrow, disappointment…he flees into the woods, caught up in his feelings, and she chases after him, trying to assure him otherwise…does that sound better?"

"Probably."

With a sigh Trutho realized he was waiting around with nothing to do. He was tempted to sneak off and occupy himself while everyone finished what he or she were doing, but he realized that would put them in the same position as they had been when Ahiru had wandered off. Instead, he lay across the railing, took out _The Prince and the Raven_, and read pensively.

o-o-o-o-o

"…So yeah, if you accidentally change back, you need to get to water somewhere; it doesn't have to be much," Ahiru explained as Sagi adjusted her coat after she had put it on, "Even a drop of water is okay."

"All right," Sagi affirmed, "Thank you for telling me."

"No problem!"

Sagi paused. "Ahiru…have you seen…anything out of the ordinary happen today? I'd just like to know."

"Anything…out of the ordinary?"

Sagi thought a moment, and then asked carefully, "Do you…recognize the name Princess Tutu?"

"Qua–!" Ahiru hastily muffled her outburst. Sagi observed her impassively.

Ahiru blinked. "How…how do you…?" She thought, and then realized, "Wait, you…were in the tree that whole time, weren't you?"

Sagi nodded. "So, you were the white bird that appeared before that girl and Caras-san, then?"

"A white bird?" Ahiru's brows furrowed perplexedly. "Not like a girl, or a ballerina…?" Sagi shook her head.

Ahiru thought. _Hmm…well, Pike called Princess Tutu the 'goddess of dance' flying down to save Mytho from falling. So that's what other people not part of the story see when Princess Tutu appears?_

"How did it happen?"

Ahiru frowned. "That's the big question…"

She fingered her magenta pendant. "Before, I used a pendant to help Mytho, the prince, get his heart back. But that one's gone now: I had to give it up to finish that very mission. This pendant looks the same, but…why would it suddenly be able to do the same thing?"

"The Lake Spirit hadn't mentioned anything about it being able to transform animals beyond ordinary humanity," Sagi recalled.

"Yeah…" Ahiru sighed. "You know, I never had told you about Princess Tutu before…I'm sorry. For one thing, it's something pretty incredible, so I didn't think you'd believe it, anyway. And even if you would've…"

Ahiru grew pensive. "It was something that was there in the past, but it disappeared, as if it were a dream…somehow, I wanted to get away from thinking about things that aren't here anymore." Her expression shifted into one of troubled mystification. "But things are changing now…there's so much happening again, and so fast…"

Ahiru was lost in thought, recalling the recent incident and the ones before it that began with the day of Mytho and Rue's homecoming. Sagi, seeing her preoccupied apprehension, inquired no more, not wanting to trouble Ahiru any further.

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir uncrossed his arms and exhaled. "…And yeah, that's about all I have to say about it." He handed it back to her. "I've told you everything I could think of to build on it. It does have some big flaws, but it could be improved."

"Hey, Fakir!" Ahiru waved, approaching him with Sagi following behind her. "How's the review coming along?"

Hearing Ahiru's voice, he glanced up and stood. "I'm done." Upon hearing this, Trutho turned his head, and after sitting up he hopped off the railing, rejoining them.

Helmina held the script to her chest hopefully. She stood up and smiled. "I can't thank you enough for taking the time to help me with this. I'll definitely consider your suggestions; they're very insightful."

She held out a hand. Somewhat awkwardly, Fakir extended his, and Helmina shook it heartily. "I'm very happy to have met a fellow writer like you, Fakir-san, and you two, Ahiru-san, Mytho-san. I hope that I will see you all again soon!"

She turned around to depart, and then realization struck her. "Wait, I almost forgot!" She went back up to Fakir. "I would be honored if you decided to stop by one of the writer's club meetings after class in the art classroom sometime. There are so few members now, we would be delighted with a guest or two…"

"I'll think about it," he replied.

As Helmina left, Ahiru turned to Fakir. "You know, you really should go," she encouraged him with a grin. "It'll be really good for you to get with people that like to do the same things you do."

Suddenly, Fakir spotted a man in a cloak lurking next to a structure nearby, watching them. Swiftly the man disappeared around the corner.

"Fakir? What's wrong?" Seeing Fakir distracted, Ahiru attempted to follow his gaze. "What were you looking at?"

"Nothing," Fakir said hastily. Glancing cautiously back at the corner, he muttered, "…Why don't you all go on ahead? There's something I need to straighten out before we leave. I'll catch up in a minute."

Ahiru looked at him dubiously. "Why? What's this all of a sudden?"

Trutho scrutinized the direction he had noticed Fakir gazing. Trutho's eyes narrowing with wariness, he studied Fakir, frowning. Fakir glared at him gravely, and Trutho, after looking back at him straight in the eyes for several moments, glanced at Sagi and Ahiru and nodded ever so slightly.

"Hey, why don't we go for now?" Trutho said to them. "Fakir can take care of himself for a couple minutes, can't he?"

Ahiru pursed her lips, hesitating. Finally she turned around. "Okay, but it'd better only be a minute, otherwise I'm coming back after you!"

She walked a few steps, and then, remembering something, hurried close to Fakir and whispered, "And I've got to tell you about something that happened, so…don't be gone for long."

Fakir nodded slowly. "I won't take long."

o-o-o-o-o

After the three had walked some distance away, after a moment's consideration, Trutho commented casually, "So…how did you two birds get to be human, anyhow?"

"Qua—!" Ahiru almost tripped in stride. After recovering she stammered, "H-how did you…?"

"You know," Trutho remarked, folding his arms, "sometimes I think, once people are used to me being around, they might forget that I'm there. I mean, honestly, Rue-san and Fakir just mentioned it right out there for me to hear."

"Why do you bring it up?" Sagi asked him.

He shrugged. " I guess…I figured it would be fair if I just let you two know I knew."

Ahiru turned towards him anxiously. "Please, please don't tell anyone…I don't know what people would say if they found out we're actually birds…"

Trutho observed Ahiru curiously, and he smiled. "Well, Ahiru, you know my secret. If you won't let anyone know mine, I promise I won't tell a soul about yours."

He paused. "Uh, you haven't already told someone about it, have you?"

"Well…only Sagi-chan," Ahiru replied tentatively, glancing over at her.

"Sagi…is it?" he repeated, looking up at the tall young woman with long, aqua tresses. "I guess that's fine, since both of you _are_ actually birds, anyway."

Sagi glanced at Ahiru with puzzlement. "A secret?"

"Trutho said he could talk with animals, but for some reason he wants that kept quiet from everyone…"

Ahiru looked at him. "But why wouldn't you want people to know? It's not a bad thing to be able to communicate with animals. Actually, it's an amazing talent! People would think that you're really a—"

"Not necessarily." Trutho sighed, looking strangely forlorn. "I guess I'll just say that I want to keep something that happened before from coming back around to haunt me."

"Something that must be related to what the Prince is dealing with right now, in the place that you left behind," murmured a voice like velvet.

Trutho started. "Who said that?" he exclaimed anxiously, glancing about.

"I am called Takako. I am known by others as a fortune-teller."

The three turned towards the source of the voice, and they saw a coffee-haired woman with white bangs standing in a doorway, holding back the curtain that hung over the entrance, gazing at them.

"Takako?" Trutho recollected. "Wait…you're the one who gave Mytho-san the eye dust!" He furrowed a brow. "I suppose that would explain how you knew right off who I really was…"

"So you're a fortune-teller?" Ahiru said with awe. "Does that mean you can see the future?"

Takako smiled enigmatically, turning back into her abode. "If you would like to converse, then please do come in."

Looking at each other with puzzlement, the three followed her inside. She had already sat down at a table that was placed in the back of the small, musty room. On the table was a crystal ball that seemed curiously luminous in the dim lighting. There were three more chairs placed in front of it, and with a display of her hand she invited them to sit.

"What kinds of things do you know?" Ahiru asked as they came in and sat down. "Do you know…everything? Everything that's happened? Or what will happen?"

"I know what has been told," Takako replied. "I know what is being told. That is all."

"…But what does that mean?" Trutho questioned. "I notice that you didn't say what _will_ be told, or whatever. So you don't know the future?"

She looked right at him with her strikingly golden eyes. "Do you believe the future is set?"

He blinked for a moment, startled somewhat by her arresting gaze. "No," Trutho replied affirmatively, gazing back into hers with his artificially amber eyes.

She nodded her head slowly. "It is not possible to ascertain what has not been written yet. Although…"

The enigmatic smile on her face widened. "I know what you know about what has happened since before and after the town's release," she said, her eyes turning to Ahiru, "Perhaps just a bit more."

"The town's…release?" Ahiru's eyes widened. "Wait, does that mean that you know about the story…?"

Takako chuckled softly but said nothing.

"You know," Ahiru murmured as the calm voice of a pale, green-haired marionette drifted through her memories. "You remind me a little of someone I used to know…"

"Someone whose remains still live on," Takako replied thoughtfully. "Within the heart of a mutual friend, who you will see again."

"Will?" Trutho queried. "Doesn't that sound a bit too certain for something that hasn't happened yet?"

Takako leaned over towards her crystal ball, gazing into it. "Hmm…it seems that your companion the writer is conversing with an old acquaintance." Takako directed her eyes back up at Ahiru. "Someone of the circle of men who keep watch over the stories of the chosen one."

"Companion writer? Wait, you mean Fakir!" Ahiru leaned quickly towards her. "And the circle of men…? But-"

Ahiru stood up in alarm. "Those couldn't be…the old guys who tried to cut off Fakir's hands!"

"Cut off his hands?" Sagi and Trutho looked at Ahiru apprehensively.

"We've got to get back to him, right away!" Ahiru dashed towards the exit. "Thanks for your help, Takako-san!"

After a similar expression of gratitude, Sagi followed after her.

Takako leaned on an arm pensively.

Trutho headed for the door behind them, and then paused. "Just…one quick question before I go," Trutho said. "Do you know…what happened, in the part of my past I don't remember?"

"Precisely? Any more than what you already know?" Takako sighed. "No," she replied. "Not yet."

He glanced perplexedly at her for a moment before slipping out the doorway.

Takako's eyes closed. She folded her hands. "I wonder…how much farther I want to go, before…"

She sighed. "The fourth wall had once been broken from the stage. Can it be opened from the other side as well?"

o-o-o-o-o

After the three had left, Fakir glowered and turned towards the hidden infiltrator. "All right, I know you're out there," Fakir barked. "What do you want?"

The cloaked man stepped out into view. "It has been a while, chosen descendant of Drosselmeyer."

Fakir's eyes narrowed. "I do not consider myself associated with that old fool."

"You have evidently continued to follow the path of an author, nevertheless," he replied, approaching Fakir on the bridge.

Fakir took on a defensive stance, his eyes darting around for something to use to protect himself, but the old man waved a hand dismissively. "I am not here to harm you. I carry no weapon." He held up his two hands as evidence. "I come alone."

Fakir frowned doubtfully. "Then what are you here for?"

"An exchange of words." The old bookstore owner looked at Fakir. "Is that too much to ask?"

"I still don't trust your word that you only wish to talk," Fakir said. "You know I still write, and you have no reason to risk allowing me to keep doing so. Am I to believe that after the town was set free you suddenly see no threat from me?"

"What had kept our circle together was not merely the dire warnings given to us by our ancestors of Drosselmeyer's power, but the perpetual reminders that no one else could even notice," the old man replied. "Men turned into beasts that walked and talked; gates that never opened but still let people in and out; places within the town that disappeared and reappeared with the passage of days. But that is no more. The town is as it should be. And many in our party believe now our duty was finally fulfilled."

"Many," Fakir reiterated. "Not all?"

The old man's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe for a moment that Drosselmeyer was finished along with the machine. He's clung to this town for too long to relinquish his power so hastily. And there are a few who agree with me that remain watchful, of you, and the tower."

Fakir furrowed a brow. "You aren't saying that the machine in the tower has begun working again…?"

"No. It has not stirred since the day you destroyed it."

Fakir took a long look at the balding man, who was barely half his height, yet somehow seemed tall. "When I could not stop your comrades from becoming ravens, you didn't think I deserved to live. Have you changed your judgment of me since then?"

The old man said nothing for a long time. Finally, he answered, "We allowed you to attempt to fight the writer of abominations, and you let the whole town, and my companions, fall victim to the Raven, a mechanism of misery orchestrated by Drosselmeyer." He looked straight into Fakir's eyes. "Yet you, with your inexperienced power, were the one to stop it all, and restore the town to its rightful state. When I think of that…"

He paused. "It comes down to this: you have shown yourself to be worthy of our trust, while the town is at peace. It is not our way to flout our influence when there is no immediate danger." He gave a somber nod. "If you give our town peace, then peace it shall be with us."

Fakir nodded solemnly in return. "I wish nothing but for this town to go on as contentedly as it has been."

"Fakir!"

Ahiru, with Sagi and Trutho following behind her, dashed towards Fakir frantically.

"Young Fakir," the old man said as he turned around to leave. "When we meet again, whether it be in peace or hostility, know me as William."

Fakir watched him disappear beyond the houses.

o-o-o-o-o

With a clank, a gear encircled Fakir's image, and in front it Drosselmeyer bristled with aggravation.

"Those story-stoppers! They're still around? They are persistent, I'll give them that." He paced back and forth across the gear he stood upon. "The question is, will they end up getting in the way of this story as well? They don't seem to be as on guard as last time, but if I'm not careful…where did that Uzura run off to, anyway?"

After several moments' contemplation, he shook his head and smirked. "Well, I think, the way things are going now, those old fools aren't going to notice much. After all, the very things that would set them off are the only things that I can't do anymore, with that part of the apparatus cut off. Really, I'm glad my young descendant put that old relic out of its misery. Quite glad indeed."

He gazed up at the gears with a gleeful mischievousness and chortled heartily. "Ah, if they knew what breaking that machine truly meant…for the town wasn't the only thing that had broken free from its tethers…"

o-o-o-o-o

"Fakir! Are you okay?" Ahiru inquired anxiously.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Fakir replied assuringly. "Why did you come back, and in a big rush like that? I told you I'd catch up later."

"A woman named Takako told us that you seemed to be in trouble," Sagi replied. "She claimed to be a fortune teller, and she said that you were talking to someone who tried to harm you in the past…"

Ahiru glared at him. "You sent us away on purpose. I thought something was up, but I didn't realize that it was one of those guys! Why did you try to face him alone when we could've been there to back you up?"

"They're only interested in me, so I'm the one that should deal with them," Fakir said. "You all shouldn't be involved."

"Fakir, just because I was a duck for a while, doesn't mean you can forget what I said before," Ahiru admonished. "I said that I'd help you however I could, with all I've got. But I can't do that if you push me away when you need help."

Fakir sighed. "All right. Next time I'll tell you." He glanced back towards the direction the used bookstore owner William had departed. "But, he really didn't intend to harm me this time. I think…he may trust me now, or at least he respects me enough to leave me alone."

He looked back at them. "But you said a fortune-teller named Takako tipped you off?"

"Claiming to be a fortune-teller, anyway," Trutho remarked.

"You don't think she knows things about the future?" Ahiru asked him. "She really seemed to know a lot…"

"Well, I've come across quite a few, so I've picked up how a few of their techniques work," he replied. "It's mostly clever talking and some ordinary perceptiveness on their part. And she said so herself, the future isn't something that can be told. Essentially, all fortune-tellers are frauds in that way." He looked thoughtful. "Yet, real fortune-teller or not, she _does_ know more things than other people, somehow…"

"Like about the story," Ahiru said, looking at Fakir. Fakir's brow furrowed, and his lips pursed pensively as he mentally noted down that name for future reference.

o-o-o-o-o

After they had seen Trutho back to the castle grounds, and Sagi had returned to her and Ahiru's room (she felt a bit tired, for it had been an exciting day for her), Ahiru and Fakir lingered outside the dormitory gates as she told Fakir the events of that morning.

"You saw Caras doing something again?"

Ahiru nodded. "It was when I got separated from you guys that I saw him with Helmina-chan. He was about to yank out what was stuck in her heart, like he had to Myra-chan. I wasn't sure what to do, because I didn't want her to suffer like Myra-chan did, but what could I do about it? But then…"

She bit her lip. "Somehow, I became Princess Tutu again."

Fakir's eyes widened in astonishment. "You did? How?"

Ahiru shook her head. "I really don't know. I just felt like something came back to me, and then it happened."

He pondered a moment. "Are you able to transform now?"

"Umm…" Ahiru closed her eyes and bunched up her fists with effort, but after a few moments her arms fell and she shook her head. "I don't feel it this time. I think it had to be really desperate a situation for it to come…"

Ahiru sighed. "But that's not all. After I freed Helmina of what was bothering her, I got a good look at what it was."

"You found out that it was definitely a heart shard?"

"Not just that." Ahiru gazed up at Fakir with apprehensive eyes. "I felt whose heart shard it was – it belonged to the Raven."

Fakir jerked back in alarm. "The Raven!? He's trying to collect the heart shards of the Raven?"

Ahiru exhaled nervously. "I can't believe it, either. For one thing, how does he know that the Raven existed in the first place? And then, why is he doing something like this?"

Fakir grimaced, thinking hard. "There are two reasons I can imagine. One, he thinks he can gain something by putting them back together, for power or who knows what. And second…"

His eyes narrowed darkly. "He wants to bring back the Raven."

Ahiru covered her mouth with horror. "But why? Why would he want to do any of this, for either of those reasons?"

"My guess is as good as yours."

After some moments' silence, Fakir was about to retire to his dorms when Ahiru started and ran after him. "Wait, before I forget, Fakir, I've gotta ask you – what's your room number?"

Fakir halted in his tracks and looked incredulously back at Ahiru.

Ahiru blinked, and then waved her hands in protest. "…No, no, it-it's not that – I just wanted to get your number so we could talk over the telephones that they've installed, if something else comes up; you know that they go room-to-room now, right? Yours should be set up, too! Oh, wait, lemme tell you mine…"

Fakir sighed. "That should be fine, but…just to tell you, if I'm not there, Autor might be picking up."

"Autor?" Ahiru asked. "Oh! You mean, Autor's your roommate now? I see…well, that's okay, even if he does I can just say I wanted to talk to you and then—"

"Yes, that's fine," Fakir mumbled hastily, grimacing. _Why does Autor somehow end up getting a foot into everything I'm doing?_

o-o-o-o-o

In a darkened study, illuminated only by the light of the waning gibbous moon, a middle-aged man in aristocratic attire stood before three old women sitting upon leather chairs removed from the desks across the room. The moonlight rays of the open window falling upon them from behind obscured their faces, and the black, feathery cloaks they wore revealed only their hands, the fingernails of them sharp and painted darkly.

"So what mishap, precisely, did you mean to inform me of?" the lord inquired, gazing across towards the women from his position in the shadows.

"Not a mishap, so to speak…an interruption is a more appropriate explanation," the tallest one on the left responded evenly. "I'm quite sure the point was made, nevertheless."

"All that we're trying to say is that someone interfered while the reprimand was being carried out," the smaller one on the right said.

"A newcomer," the one in the center uttered. "Someone from the outside who I doubt was involved previously."

The man, stepping partly out of the shadows, revealing a brown-gray beard surrounding his pressed lips, crossed his arms over his crimson suit. "A new arrival? Someone uninvolved? Who might this stranger be?"

The small one took a breath, about to speak, when the center figure replied, "He remains a mystery. All we know is that he is not of this town. Likely he is a well-to-do landlord or perhaps a duke from nearby."

"Hmm," he muttered, stroking his beard. "Perhaps it would be best if we had a look at this newcomer. So we can get a chance to understand his motives more closely. Let the council ask him a few questions."

"That is a possibility," the tall one consented. "We shall see what we can do. I expect you may send your subordinates to collect them if they are found?"

"Of course, of course," he waved a hand dismissively. "I appreciate your kind's hard work. I shall enlighten you as to anything we find out." He glanced around at them, his arms placed behind his back. "Is there anything else?"

"No," the one in the center said after a pause. "That will be all. We bid you a most… tranquil night."

The three figures in feathery mantles stood and filed towards the open window. A gust of wind ruffled their cloaks, and they spread their arms. The old women morphed into three dark birds perched on the windowsill. The nobleman watched them take flight and disappear into the distance. After they had gone he remained at the window, gazing meditatively out at the town of Ginkan from high above.

The three ravens alighted on the top of a giant tree with bare, spidery branches.

"How his airs infuriate me at times," the smallest of the three muttered.

"Patience, dear Skuld," the leanest, tallest of them counseled. "You must remember that we are dealing with mere humans, and with some of the most wretched of the lot at that."

"His complacency is merely a cover for his fear, and his vulnerability," the one that perched on the branch above the other two stated. "As one of those with the most to lose, he is the easiest to manipulate."

"Although, Verdandi," the lean one said, "why did we avoid letting him know that the new arrival is none other than the Prince of Kinkan? Surely it would have captured his attention much more."

"What for?" the bird called Skuld replied lightly. "Why let him know something he'll find out sooner or later anyway? He'll only get more agitated, and surely he has enough on his mind as it is," she remarked with a chuckle.

"He seems to be interested enough about an outside presence alone, Urd," Verdandi responded. "And we were asked to draw out this damper for as long as possible, so why add more kindle to the flame than necessary? And at any rate," she added, glancing about the town, "things shall erupt at any time of our choosing."

"Ooooh," Skuld squirmed about on her perch. "Why can't it be sooner rather than later? I grow weary of this quiet tedium."

Verdandi and Urd cackled. "Impatient as always, youngest sister."

o-o-o-o-o

Deep within the clusters of cogs spinning and ticking away, Uzura finally stopped running, and she stood there, huffing and puffing, glancing behind her.

"Is the tussle-mayor still after me-zura?" Uzura pondered. "I don't see him anymore from here, but…if I'm not careful, after I go back he'll just sneak up and take Ahiru's quill again-zura."

Uzura plopped down where she had stood, frowning worriedly. "What should I do-zura?"

A moment passed. She blinked, and twirled her head around. "What? Me-zura, you know what to do?"

"_A story has begun once again,"_ a calm voice murmured from within her. _"Yet no one is aware that it still exists. Facing even a familiar conflict without acknowledgement is a struggle in the dark."_

"Aaaooooh…so then, I should go tell them that Drosselmeyer is writing the story again-zura?" Uzura stood and nodded. "Okay, then! I'll find Fakir and Ahiru so that I can warn them-zura."

She paused, and considered the bright yellow, almost golden plume that she grasped. "And while I'm doing that…maybe, since it might keep it away from the tussle-mayor, I think I'll go give them Ahiru's quill too-zura."

She glanced around, searching the whirling gears for the opening. After a moment, a large gear went transparent and Uzura could recognize the tall tower of Kinkan beyond it. Clenching her little hands with determination, she swung her arms back and forth, prepping for a jump, and almost as if it were a hoop, she leapt through the silhouette of the cog into the other side.

* * *

**_Next episode preview_**

(will fill in later when more is written of the next chapter)

**Princess Tutu  
**_-Kapitel des Vogel-  
_30. AKT "Wall of Deceptions"  
- Für Elise -

All children who love stories, come gather round once more! Heheheheheh…

* * *

**Extra notes:**

'same' from Sameko means 'shark' in Japanese; -ko is a common feminine name suffix  
'tara' from Tarao means 'cod' in Japanese; -o is a common masculine name suffix  
'maguro' from Maguromi means 'tuna' in Japanese; -mi is a common feminine name suffix  
The names of Neko-san's wife and kittens are all from characters of the opera "The Marriage of Figaro".

Helmina von Chezy was a playwright that actually existed in the 19th century. She was the writer of a play that translates to "Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus", which had discontinued only after two performances due to its lack of popularity. The music, however, was written by Franz Schubert, and it was highly praised by the critics. The music he wrote plays all throughout this episode, and both Helmina and the play she wrote (even though it must be approximated, as no text of the actual play exists) are both referenced heavily from the historical figure and work. "Euryanthe" is also an opera that she had written, with a similar level of success.

Research on Helmina's background:

"Wilhelmena von Chézy arrived in Vienna from Dresden early in the 19th century with a fearsome reputation for being "industrious in the literary field and exceedingly good natured" but "a trifle ridiculous (cleanliness is not one of her principal virtues)". She had written a four act play Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus for which the young Franz Schubert (26 at the time) had written the music. This was nothing unusual for Schubert, he wrote more than 10 complete works for the stage as well as various incomplete ones.

But this particular project was not to be a success - the work was withdrawn after the second performance. The creaky, intricate plot, a hotchpotch of woolly romantics featuring knights, shepherds and huntsmen failed to capture the public. The Viennese critics praised the music but the whole thing disappeared into the archives - until the music was re-discovered in 1867 by George Grove and Arthur Sullivan."

**_29. AKT Music List  
_**(the time ranges listed show what part of the song is used in the scene, based either on the tracks of the original soundtrack or the source classical music)

**"Avant Title"  
**_Played after the first sentence during the prologue, and stops right before the title._  
The mysterious music used in each episode's prologue during the series; a foreboding version of "March" from the Nutcracker.

**"Ballet in B minor"**  
_Played during the scene where the exhibition committee is debating and where Helmina presents her script to them; continues through the scene with Fakir, Trutho, and Rue's practice session and during Ahiru's dance class._  
(from "Rosamunde") A piece that starts out forceful and solemn, then switches from calm to forceful and grows more optimistic towards the end.

**"Intermezzo in B flat major"  
**(start 2:10, end 4:12)  
_Played during Helmina and Ahiru's conversation after Ahiru escapes from the dance class._  
(from "Rosamunde") A moderately paced, gentle, introspective song with flute, clarinet, and oboe.

**"March"**  
_Played during Yagiko-sensei's talk with Lester-senpai._  
(from "The Marriage of Figaro") An assertive, moderately volumed march with a steady rhythm.

**"Intermezzo in D major"**  
_Played when Sagi enters the library; ends when Sagi takes flight.  
_(from "Rosamunde") An ominous song that climaxes in the middle and then shifts to a still apprehensive, but somewhat whimsical tone.

**"Overture"**  
_Played when Ahiru sees Caras and Helmina at the bridge; ends when the shard leaves Helmina.  
_(from "Rosamunde") An alternately suspenseful and exciting orchestral piece, that starts out gently apprehensive, bursts into a stimulating chorus, then after a few repeats of the theme swells into a triumphant finish.

**"Ballet in G major"  
**_Played while Ahiru has Fakir read over Helmina's work, and while Ahiru meets up with Sagi._**  
**(from "Rosamunde") A lighthearted, sprightly, optimistic song with some energetic moments.

**"Arabian Dance"  
**_Played from when Takako first speaks in the scene where Trutho, Ahiru and Sagi are walking.  
_(from "The Nutcracker") A slow, enigmatic song. Could be thought of as Takako's theme.

**"Promenade – The Old Castle"  
**_Played for the scene with Fakir talking with one of the Book Men._  
(from "Pictures at an Exhibition") A composed, contemplative orchestral work with flutes and a calmly played horn; following that is a solemn song with mournful yet enigmatic horns and strings.

**"Drosselmeyer Resurrection"  
**_Plays for the scene where Drosselmeyer comments on the story-stoppers and the situation.**  
**_A menacing, apprehensive, yet eccentric, version of "March" from the Nutcracker.

**"The Story's Terminal Station Is…"  
**(Monogatari no Shuuchakueki) (until 56 sec)  
_Played for the scene with the three old women and the man talking about the events in Ginkan.  
_An ominous, dark song.

**"Watashi no Ai wa Chiisai Keredo (TV vrs.)"  
**_Played at the end of the episode; imagine ending sequence here.  
_(Artist: Ritsuko Okazaki) The ending of Princess Tutu; shortened version played in the show.


End file.
